Harnessing the Sun: The Rise of Solar Energy in Memphis, Tennessee

7 min readDec 22, 2023

Memphis, Tennessee, basks generously in the Southern sun, providing a climatic sweet spot for solar energy production. The geography here is a boon for solar enthusiasts; with long, sun-drenched days, especially in the balmy summer months where daylight stretches luxuriously from early morning well into the evening hours. Solar irradiance levels are commendable, with the region receiving an estimated 5 kWh/m²/day on average, creating a goldmine for photovoltaic systems to convert sunlight into a clean, virtually inexhaustible stream of electricity. Furthermore, the relatively mild winters contribute fewer overcast days compared to states further north, thereby the photovoltaic (PV) potential hardly takes a seasonal nosedive. This uninterrupted solar banquet highlights Memphis as a burgeoning solar powerhouse within the Southeastern United States. The vibe in Memphis is changing; there’s a palpable shift towards embracing renewable energies, with solar energy not just being an eco-conscious choice but also increasingly recognized as an economically savvy investment. With supportive state laws and incentives complementing Memphis’ geographical gifts, the city is charting a course for a glowing future in the spectrum of solar energy leadership.

Solar Initiatives and Growth Memphis

The sun-soaked vistas of Memphis, Tennessee form an invigorating backdrop for the city’s burgeoning solar energy sector, a mélange of progressive legislation and pioneering projects, all sprouting under the incentivizing warmth of state and local government policies. A pivotal motivator is the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Green Invest program, a green-thumb initiative partnering with local power companies to facilitate large-scale solar installations. Businesses and residences are seeing the solar light, too, with TVA’s Dispersed Power Production program allowing for smaller-scale solar generation systems, getting those electric meters spinning backwards.

Legislatively, Tennesse’s improvement on Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing pushes the solar agenda forward by greasing the gears of investment, making solar projects more financially digestible for property owners. On the practical front, Memphis is home to the impressive Agricenter International solar array, which churns out a hearty 1 MW of power, adding to the city’s tapestry of sunshine-driven projects.

Strikingly, the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority’s innovative solar farm initiative — with a massive array generating 3 MW — establishes the city’s airport as a lodestar in solar advancement. This installation, which leverages the airport’s vast and unused land, doesn’t just power operations but pours its green bounty back into the grid, casting Memphis International Airport as a solar sentinel amidst Tennessee’s quest for cleaner, renewable energy landscapes.

Solar Landscape in Memphis

Delving into the solar tapestry of Memphis, Tennessee, we’re met with a sun-soaked panorama ripe for photovoltaic exploration. The city basks in an average solar irradiance of around 5.43 kilowatt-hours per square meter per day (kWh/m²/day), a figure that winks favorably at solar prospects. The solar potential here isn’t just a promise whispered by the midday sun; it’s echoed in the roughly 210 sunny days per year, surpassing the national average and bolstering the case for harvesting those golden rays.

With such abundant sunshine, Memphis is a hotbed for solar, both literally and figuratively. Consider state incentives, like the TVA Green Power Providers program and the sales tax exemption for solar equipment. These provide financial smiles to those casting their energy futures with the sun. And it’s not solely about hours of sunlight — no sir! The angle and intensity of solar insolation sprinkle extra potency on the panels, often peaking in the throes of summer, when energy demand gusts like a tempest, air conditioners whirring like a swarm of bees.

But it’s not just climate and legal sweeteners making Memphis a solar haven. It’s the recognition that harnessing the sun’s power equates to energy independence, locking horns with rising utility rates, and laying down a green gauntlet for ecological sustainability. The silhouette of a solar panel on a Memphis rooftop becomes a statement, a beacon of a city stepping boldly into the photovoltaic future.

Economic and Environmental Impact

In Memphis, Tennessee, the solar energy surge is painting the economy green, both fiscally and sustainably. Indeed, the Bluff City’s embrace of photovoltaics is a resounding economic booster, with solar investments cascading a ripple effect through job creation and industry growth. Leveraging Tennessee’s generous tax incentives — like the Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) — businesses and homeowners are harnessing the sun’s rays at financially appealing rates, thereby swelling state and local tax coffers. Moreover, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has galvanized this movement through its Green Invest program, drawing tech titans desirous of green credentials to set up shop under Memphis’s favorable solar conditions.

The ripples extend to environmental rejuvenation. Each photovoltaic panel stows away a bit of Memphis’s scorching sun, slashing the need for water-thirsty, carbon-belching conventional energy plants. Solar energy thus acts as a balm to both the Memphis aquifer — safeguarding its vital water supplies — and the air, routinely filtering out the equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions from thousands of cars. This translates to clearer Memphis skies, a glorious gift to a city once vexed by particulate-laden air and offering a chapter in a cautiously optimistic narrative about reversing regional environmental degradation.

Challenges and Opportunities

Navigating the swirling currents of solar expansion in Memphis, Tennessee, one confronts a gyre of challenges entrenched in the regulatory and climatic strata of the locale. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a federally owned electricity corporation, looms large over the solar horizon, with a conundrum of grid integration policies that ostensibly temper the frenetic pace of photovoltaic (PV) enthusiasm. Whispers of change blow through the leaves, with the Green Invest program signifying a budding nod to larger scale solar projects — yet, the infrastructural sinew stubbornly clings to the familiar fossil paradigm.

Small-scale solar adopters in Memphis bump against the ceiling of policy, where net metering or equivalent incentives are as scant as rain in a drought, leading to unjust stagnation in payoff periods for residential and commercial solar investments. However, Memphis’s sultry sun-basted days, averaging an opulent 218 sunny days per year, are a siren call for solar evangelists dreaming of a voltaic renaissance.

The city basks in the opportunity to become a vibrant ecosystem for solar proliferation, with its ample rooftops and vast fields lying in wait. As the cost of solar technology plummets into an irresistible gravity well of affordability, Memphis could potentially see an explosion of solar adoption, providing it navigates the treacherous waters of legislation with the finesse of a policy-savvy Odysseus. With eyes cast on the horizon, the challenge is to harness the kinetic dance of policy and innovation into a symphony of sustainable growth.

Community Engagement and Education

In Memphis, Tennessee, the rays of potential in community solar programs sparkle brightly, emanating not just watts, but a deeper educational mission that threads through neighborhoods. Pulsing at this vibrant intersection of involvement and enlightenment, programs such as Memphis Light, Gas and Water’s (MLGW) Solar Share project blaze a trail for residents to tap into solar without the upfront costs of personal installations. This initiative allows for a shared solar array that residents invest in incrementally, fostering an inclusive energy landscape tailored to the unique socio-economic contours of Memphis. The beauty of it lies in its democratic essence — tailor-made for a place where a spectrum of community members, from the enterprising midtowner to the pragmatic suburbanite, can collectively harness solar dividends.

On the educational forefront, initiatives like the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) EnergyRight Solutions and Green Power Providers entice local engagement through workshops, solar demonstrations, and school programs. Tennessee laws, tilting towards solar favorability with incentives such as the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS), propel the financial feasibility forward, emboldening locals to become both energy producers and informed energy consumers. Here, the climate is more than meteorological — it’s a climate of burgeoning solar literacy, where residents are encouraged to sunbathe in a potent mix of photons and knowledge, optimizing the state’s generous 204 sunny days a year. Support networks buzz, brimming with expert voices, ready to translate the high sun of midsummer into a beacon of communal empowerment and individual enlightenment. Memphis, with its solar panels mirroring the broad Mississippi, reflects a future where energy education and participation are as natural and flowing as the river itself.

Conclusion

Memphis, Tennessee, serves as a shining exemplar of solar energy’s untapped potential merging with zealous adoption. Harvesting the generous Tennessee sun, Memphis stands as a bastion of progress in the South, a region historically entrenched in traditional energy resources. The state’s solar-friendly policies, including the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Green Power Providers program and local incentives such as Memphis Light, Gas and Water’s (MLGW) net metering, have created a fertile ground for solar investment that’s as rich as the famous delta soil. The city’s climate, boasting a flamboyant sun that cascades its rays an average of 218 days per year, provides an ample photovoltaic playground, enabling solar arrays to capture and convert this celestial bounty with gusto. Innovators and residents alike are increasingly turning rooftops into gold mines, aligning economic prudence with environmental stewardship, proving that Memphis not only marches to its own bluesy beat but also pulses to the radiant rhythm of the sun. This burgeoning solar landscape in Memphis serves as an effulgent beacon, urging fellow sunny municipalities to harness their solar potential, carrying the torch of renewable revolution into a bright and sustainable future.