Solar power in Tennessee

Solar power in Tennessee is capable of producing much of the state's electricity; however, the industry remains in early stages in the state. With 129 MW of solar power in 2015, Tennessee ranked 20th among states for installed solar capacity.

In 2012, Tennessee's largest solar installation was the 5 MW West Tennessee Solar Farm.

In 2013, Volkswagen opened an 8 MW solar farm at its assembly plant in Chattanooga. The largest solar installations in Tennessee in 2014 were the 20 MW Selmer and 20 MW Mulberry Solar Farms in McNairy County.

In 2015, White Farms, a grain farm in rural Carroll County, installed a 49.725 kW solar array.

A 68.5 MW(DC) (53 MW(AC)) solar farm near Millington became the state's largest solar installation in 2019.

Rooftop solar
Photovoltaic panels installed on rooftops is estimated to be capable of producing 23% of all electricity used in Tennessee, with 16,000 MW of solar panels.

Federal law requires net metering upon request, but Tennessee is one of only four states without established policy, meaning that it needs to be negotiated with the utility. A more practical approach is to assume net metering by each utility. Net metering is simply an accounting procedure, and the only requirement is a bi-directional electric meter. Most meters are bi-directional. It is more practical for utilities to discover net metering instead of requiring registration and reporting, just as there is no registration or reporting requirement in connecting an air conditioner, which is instead discovered by utilities. Best practices call for perpetual roll over of kilowatt credits instead of converting to a monetary value.

A 2012 estimate suggests that a typical 5 kW system will pay for itself in about 14 years, and thereafter generate a net savings of $16,622 over the 25 year life of the system.

Climate impact
Solar power installations in Tennessee have a relatively high climate impact, because almost 25% of the state's electrical generation (as of 2021) comes from coal.

A Nashville-based startup, Clearloop, is targeting solar installations based on three criteria: “Where are the sunniest places? Where’s the grid the dirtiest? And where can a dollar invested in infrastructure go the longest way?” The company's first installation, in Jackson, has capacity to power about 200 homes. Clearloop plans to build additional installations based on investment by companies which want to transition to 100% renewable electricity or offset corporate emissions.