The Knoxville City Council approved a power purchase agreement with Red Lion Renewables at their most recent meeting, despite opposition by current power provider MidAmerican Energy.
The power purchase agreement involves Red Lion Renewables using city facilities to install solar energy panels at no cost to the city, and buy power from those panels at a fixed rate for the next twenty years. Knoxville City Manager Aaron Adams tells KNIA/KRLS News the move better allows the city to plan for the future because the city will know what it needs to spend on power today, tomorrow, and all the way into future years.
Adams also said that this project is less about the potential money saved on this project, and more about finding renewable energy sources and the stability to the rates that it will bring. MidAmerican Energy had representatives at the council meeting opposed to the project and stated that they had no plans to raise rates for the next 10 years, but were unable to provide the same sort of project to the city.