- 10-year PPA to deliver power from Argo and Brookfield’s Smoky Mountain Hydro Facilitieslocated in east Tennessee and western North Carolina
- The hydro facilities will provide 377 MW of reliable, clean energy to meet demand growth in TVA’s service territory
- The PPA will support TVA’s energy transition goal to achieve net-zero by 2050
Tennessee Valley Authority (“TVA”) together with Argo Infrastructure Partners, LP (“Argo”) and Brookfield Asset Management (“Brookfield”) (NYSE: BAM, TSX: BAM), with its listed affiliate Brookfield Renewable (NYSE: BEP, BEPC; TSX: BEP.UN, BEPC) today announced the signing of a landmark 10-year power purchase agreement (“PPA”) with power to be delivered by the Cheoah, Calderwood, Chilhowee and Santeetlah dams, together known as the Smoky Mountain Hydroelectric facilities (“Smoky”), which is jointly owned by Argo and Brookfield.
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Smoky will begin delivering power through the PPA starting in 2025 and over the next decade, will supply more than 14 gigawatt hours of carbon-free energy to TVA customers, advancing TVA's transition towards its 2050 net-zero goal.
Smoky currently owns and operates a 377-megawatt portfolio of four hydroelectric power facilities across east Tennessee and western North Carolina. This portfolio generates an annual average of 1.4 million megawatt-hours of carbon-free energy—equivalent to approximately 1.1 million tons of CO2 emissions avoided each year.
“TVA appreciates this partnership that enables more reliable, clean megawatts to be available when they’re needed,” said Chris Hansen, TVA vice president, Origination and Renewables Solutions. “We have a long history of effectively using hydroelectric power to provide affordable, reliable energy to our region, and this agreement builds on that success.”
Jason Zibarras, founder of Argo stated, “We are delighted to partner with Brookfield on this landmark PPA with TVA, set to deliver over 14 GWh of renewable energy and avoid 11 million tons of CO2 emissions for TVA’s customers over the next ten years.” Brice Soucy, Argo Senior Director and Smoky Board member commented, “This agreement strongly supports the region's energy transition goals, where unprecedented growth in data centers, manufacturing, and other industries has increased the demand for carbon reduction and renewable energy options.”
“We are thrilled to partner with TVA and deliver clean power solutions at scale to accelerate the energy transition,” said Stephen Gallagher, CEO of Brookfield Renewable North America. “We are well positioned to meet increasing demand for power from digitalization and electrification with one of the largest renewable power platforms in the U.S., including our strategically important portfolio of hydro assets that can provide scale dispatchable clean power.”
Argo Infrastructure Partners
Argo Infrastructure Partners LP, founded by Jason Zibarras, is an independent fund manager with a long-term approach to infrastructure investing. Argo invests in high-quality infrastructure businesses and assets that provide essential services to their communities over their long operational lives, including investments in utilities, renewable energy, digital infrastructure, and other long duration infrastructure assets. Argo’s investment philosophy couples sound investment return with responsible and sustainable investing. As of July 2024, Argo manages over $6 billion in assets on behalf of its investor partners. For more information, visit www.argoip.com.
Tennessee Valley Authority (“TVA”)
The Tennessee Valley Authority is the largest public power utility in the United States, providing reliable electricity to over 10 million people across seven states in a 80,000 square mile service territory. TVA is a corporate agency of the United States, receiving no taxpayer funding, deriving virtually all of its revenues from sales of electricity. In addition to operating and investing its revenues in its electric system, TVA provides flood control, navigation, and land management for the Tennessee River system, and assists local power companies and state and local governments with economic development and job creation.
As a leader in clean energy innovation, TVA plays a critical role in supporting sustainable development and economic growth in the region, while driving initiatives that align with its commitment to reducing carbon emissions and advancing a cleaner energy future. Hydroelectric generation already makes up approximately 9% of TVA’s total generation portfolio and about 56% of TVA’s power production is carbon-free.
Brookfield Asset Management
Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (NYSE: BAM, TSX: BAM) is a leading global alternative asset manager with over $1 trillion of assets under management. We invest client capital for the long-term with a focus on real assets and essential service businesses that form the backbone of the global economy. We offer a range of alternative investment products to investors around the world — including public and private pension plans, endowments and foundations, sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions, insurance companies and private wealth investors.
Brookfield operates Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE: BEP, TSX: BEP), one of the world’s largest publicly traded platforms for renewable power and sustainable solutions. Our renewable power portfolio consists of hydroelectric, wind, utility-scale solar, distributed generation and storage facilities in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Our operating capacity totals over 35,000 megawatts and our development pipeline stands at approximately 200,000 megawatts. Our portfolio of sustainable solutions assets includes our investments in Westinghouse (a leading global nuclear services business) and a utility and independent power producer with operations in the Caribbean and Latin America, as well as both operating assets and a development pipeline of carbon capture and storage capacity, agricultural renewable natural gas and materials recycling.
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