Industrial, Solar  -  August 8, 2023

Rivian Partners in Kentucky Solar Project

Rivian Automotive entered into a partnership to develop a new solar energy center.

The automotive manufacturer chose the Starfire Mine, a former coal mine in Kentucky, for the project's location.

When the project is completed, the BrightNight Starfire Renewable Energy Center will have an 800-megawatt (MW) capacity and will include BrightNight’s construction of up to a 20-mile transmission line, enabling an additional 1 gigawatt (GW) of renewable power generation in the region in the future.

The project will be developed over four phases with the first phase of construction beginning in 2025.

Rivian will purchase 100 MW of renewable power from Phase 1 through a power purchase agreement (PPA) with BrightNight. The Nature Conservancy, a global environmental nonprofit, will also purchase up to 2.5 MW of renewable energy credits from the project to complement its onsite solar arrays.

“Shifting our energy system toward carbon neutrality goes beyond electrifying the roughly 1.5 billion vehicles in the global fleet,” said Rivian Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe in a statement. “We must also support the decarbonization of our energy infrastructure through the responsible deployment of renewable energy. We are thrilled to collaborate with organizations like The Nature Conservancy and BrightNight to bring Starfire to life and help create a scalable model for a modern grid that provides reliable, affordable, and carbon free energy for all.”

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