EV maker Rivian is broadening its scope has partnered with solar projects developer Clearloop to bring renewable electricity online and support charging infrastructure.
The Paris Solar Farm – Puryear in Tennessee will be the first solar installation in Henry County, which is located on the Sun Belt. Rivian has provided financing for 1 MW of the 6.75 MW project, which will cover Rivian Waypoints chargers to be placed in Tennessee state parks and other clean energy commitments in the region. The financing from Rivian helped start project construction.
“Corporations have played a major role in growing renewables, but we’re arriving at a point where we need to evolve our approaches in order to truly decarbonize the nation’s entire grid,” said Laura Zapata, Clearloop Co-founder and CEO. “Clearloop is opening up a new solar financing mechanism that focuses on the carbon impacts rather than the megawatt hours. Rivian’s willingness to think creatively and take this different path is a key enabler.”
The Paris Solar Farm – Puryear is also enabled by Tennessee Valley Authority’s recent provision that will allow local electricity providers to source 5% of their power from renewables developed by other entities. The local power firm Paris BPU was among the first to use the provision.
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The solar farm enables Paris BPU to offer green tariff so local companies can meet their renewable energy targets.
Rivian aims to achieve carbon neutrality for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2028 and for Scope 3 emissions by 2032. The firm intends to match every kilowatt hour Rivian owners drive with renewable purchases whether the vehicles are charged at home, through a Rivian charger or at a partner network charging site.
Clearloop has another project underway in Tennessee. It is building 1 million watts (1 MW) of new solar capacity in Jackson, enough to power 200 homes over 40 years and reclaim 59.6 million pounds of CO2.
Rivian also has supported projects to provide Waypoints chargers at Yosemite National Park and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in California.
