Notice2025-15163
Hillsboro Solar Final Environmental Impact Statement
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 8, 2025
Issuing agencies
Tennessee Valley Authority
Abstract
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has decided to adopt the preferred alternative identified in its final environmental impact statement (Final EIS; Document ID EISX-455-00-000-1729685595) for the Hillsboro Solar Project. The Final EIS was made available to the public on June 20, 2025. A Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Final EIS was published in the Federal Register on June 27, 2025 (90 FR 27538). TVA's preferred alternative, analyzed in the Final EIS as the Proposed Action Alternative, consists of TVA executing a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Hillsboro Solar, LLC (Hillsboro Solar), a wholly owned subsidiary of Urban Grid, to purchase power generated by the proposed 200-megawatt (MW) alternating current (AC) solar photovoltaic (PV) facility, which would occupy approximately 1,610 acres of a 3,779-acre Project Site, on the north side of U.S. Highway 72 Alternate/State Route 20 between Courtland and Hillsboro, Alabama. The facility would connect to TVA's existing adjacent Trinity-Nance 161-kilovolt (kV) transmission line (TL), proposed to be renamed Trinity-Brides Hill (Line [L]5832), that extends east-west through the Project Site. To interconnect to TVA's existing electrical grid, Hillsboro Solar, LLC would build a new on- site Hillsboro III Solar, AL 161-kV substation. This alternative would achieve the purpose and need of the Project to meet the demand for increased energy generation established in TVA's 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 151 (Friday, August 8, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 151 (Friday, August 8, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38579-38581]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-15163]
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TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
Hillsboro Solar Final Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority.
ACTION: Record of decision.
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SUMMARY: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has decided to adopt the
preferred alternative identified in its final environmental impact
statement (Final EIS; Document ID EISX-455-00-000-1729685595) for the
Hillsboro Solar Project. The Final EIS was made available to the public
on June 20, 2025. A Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Final EIS was
published in the Federal Register on June 27, 2025 (90 FR 27538). TVA's
preferred alternative, analyzed in the Final EIS as the Proposed Action
Alternative, consists of TVA executing a power purchase agreement (PPA)
with Hillsboro Solar, LLC (Hillsboro Solar), a wholly owned subsidiary
of Urban Grid, to purchase power generated by the proposed 200-megawatt
(MW) alternating current (AC) solar photovoltaic (PV) facility, which
would occupy approximately 1,610 acres of a 3,779-acre Project Site, on
the north side of U.S. Highway 72 Alternate/State Route 20 between
Courtland and Hillsboro, Alabama. The facility would connect to TVA's
existing adjacent Trinity-Nance 161-kilovolt (kV) transmission line
(TL), proposed to be renamed Trinity-Brides Hill (Line [L]5832), that
extends east-west through the Project Site. To interconnect to TVA's
existing electrical grid, Hillsboro Solar, LLC would build a new on-
site Hillsboro III Solar, AL 161-kV substation. This alternative would
achieve the purpose and need of the Project to meet the demand for
increased energy generation established in TVA's 2019 Integrated
Resource Plan (IRP).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Smith, NEPA Project Manager,
Tennessee Valley Authority, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, WT 11B
Knoxville, TN 37902; telephone 865-632-3053; or email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6c091f010518045d582c181a0d420b031a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bfdaccd2d6cbd78e8bffcbc9de91d8d0c9">[email protected]</span></a>.
To access and review the Final EIS, this Record of Decision (ROD), and
other project documents, go to TVA's website at <a href="https://www.tva.gov/nepa">https://www.tva.gov/nepa</a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is provided in accordance with
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and TVA's procedures (18
CFR 1318) for implementing NEPA. TVA is a corporate agency of the
United States that provides electricity for business customers and
local power distributors serving 10 million people in the Tennessee
Valley--an 80,000-square-
[[Page 38580]]
mile region comprised of Tennessee and parts of Virginia, North
Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky. TVA receives no
taxpayer funding and derives virtually all revenues from the sale of
electricity. In addition to operating and investing revenues in its
power system, TVA provides flood control, navigation, and land
management for the Tennessee Valley watershed and provides economic
development and job creation assistance within the TVA Power Service
area.
In June 2019, TVA completed its 2019 IRP and associated EIS. The
2019 IRP identified the various resources that TVA intends to use to
meet the energy needs of the TVA region over a 20-year planning period,
while achieving TVA's objectives to deliver reliable, low-cost, and
cleaner energy with fewer environmental impacts. The 2019 IRP
anticipates growth of solar generating capacity in all scenarios
analyzed, with most scenarios anticipating 5,000 to 8,000 MW and one
anticipating up to 14,000 MW by 2038. The 2019 IRP remains valid and
guides future generation planning consistent with least-cost planning
principles.
TVA has prepared an EIS pursuant to NEPA to assess the
environmental impacts of the Proposed Action to execute a PPA with
Hillsboro Solar for TVA to purchase power generated by the proposed
200-MW AC solar PV facility, which would occupy approximately 1,610
acres of a 3,779-acre Project Site, on the north side of U.S. Highway
72 Alternate/State Route 20 between Courtland and Hillsboro, Alabama.
Alternatives Considered
TVA considered a no action and one action alternative in the Draft
EIS and Final EIS.
No Action Alternative. Under the No Action Alternative, TVA would
not execute the PPA with Hillsboro Solar to purchase the power
generated by the Hillsboro Solar Project. Under the No Action
Alternative, Hillsboro Solar would not develop, operate, maintain, and
decommission a solar facility at this location, and TVA would meet
renewable energy demand by other actions.
Proposed Action Alternative. Under the Proposed Action Alternative,
TVA would execute the PPA with Hillsboro Solar, LLC to purchase power
generated by the proposed 200-MW AC solar PV facility known as
Hillsboro Solar Facility, which would occupy 1,610 acres of a 3,779-
acre Project Site, on the north side of U.S. Highway 72 Alternate/State
Route 20 between Courtland and Hillsboro, Alabama. The facility would
connect to TVA's existing adjacent Trinity-Nance 161-kilovolt (kV) TL,
proposed to be renamed Trinity-Brides Hill (Line [L]5832), that extends
east-west through the Project Site. Under the PPA, Hillsboro Solar
would construct, operate, and maintain Hillsboro Solar Facility for a
20-year period. At the end of the 20-year PPA, Hillsboro Solar would
assess whether to cease operations at the solar facility or to replace
equipment, if needed, and attempt to enter into a new PPA with TVA or
make some other arrangement to sell the power.
Purpose and Need. The purpose and need of the Proposed Action is to
provide cost effective renewable energy consistent with the 2019 IRP
and in response to customer demand. TVA's preferred alternative for
fulfilling its purpose and need is the Proposed Action Alternative,
which would generate renewable energy for TVA and its customers with
only minor to moderate environmental impacts due to the implementation
of best management practices (BMPs) and minimization and mitigation
efforts. Implementation of the Project would help TVA meet customer-
driven energy demands on the TVA system.
Preferred Alternative
The No Action Alternative would result in the lowest level of
environmental impacts as the impacts associated with construction and
operation of the solar facility would not occur. However, the No Action
Alternative does not meet the purpose and need for the project.
Overall, environmental impacts associated with the Proposed Action
Alternative would be minor to moderate with the implementation of BMPs
and minimization and mitigation efforts. The Proposed Action could have
minor adverse impacts to geology, soils, water quality, federally
listed species, and utilities; minor to moderate adverse impacts to
recreation and visual resources; moderate adverse impacts on land use;
moderate to large adverse impacts to prime farmland and transportation;
minor beneficial impacts to air quality; and short- to long-term
moderate beneficial impacts to socioeconomics. The Project Site would
be revegetated by planting a mixture of non-invasive, fast-growing
annual species and long-lived perennial species. This would likely
result in an increase in plant diversity over that of the cultivated
cropland currently present on the site. Vegetation on developed
portions of the Project Site would be maintained to control growth
through occasional mowing. Beneficial effects to the economy associated
with construction of the Project would be short-term and beneficial.
Construction of the Project would result in minor impacts to U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)-jurisdictional ephemeral streams and
wetlands, non-USACE-jurisdictional ditches and open waters, and Alabama
Department of Environmental Management (ADEM)-regulated wetlands for
road crossings, solar panel arrays and solar panel blocks. These
impacts would be permitted by Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404/401
permits through USACE and ADEM, as applicable to the jurisdiction of
these waters. In accordance with TVA requirements, minimum 50-foot-wide
streamside management zones (SMZs) or avoidance buffers surrounding
wetlands and intermittent and perennial streams would be established on
the Project Site and would be maintained through avoidance measures.
The Project land use would change from agricultural, forested, and
rural-residential land to industrial uses. To promote environmental
stewardship and pollinator habitat along with clean, renewable energy,
Hillsboro Solar, LLC would establish and maintain 50 acres of the
Project Site as species-rich native plant meadow. These areas would be
developed as several narrow strips surrounding or adjacent to the solar
arrays that formerly supported croplands or in areas where trees were
recently harvested. No forested land would be cleared to create the
meadow zones.
Approximately 95 acres of forest that potentially provide high- to
low-quality summer roosting habitat for endangered and threatened bats
would be cleared during winter months (October 01 to March 14) to
minimize direct impacts to both protected bat species and migratory
birds. The TL upgrade work would be carried out in a manner to avoid
impacts to endangered species. TVA has consulted with the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (USFWS) under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act,
and USFWS concurred with TVA's determination that the Project may
affect but is not likely to adversely affect the federally listed gray
bat, Indiana bat, or northern long-eared bat, and is not likely to
jeopardize the continued existence of the tricolored bat or monarch
butterfly, both proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act.
The Project would have no effect on the other federally listed species
that were identified as having the potential to occur on or near the
Project Site.
[[Page 38581]]
The Project would have an adverse effect on the Wheeler Station
Rural Historic District (WSRHD); however, impacts would be minimized
through appropriate mitigation included in the previously and newly
executed Memorandum of Agreements (MOA) between TVA and Alabama
Historic Commission (AHC). No adverse visual impacts are anticipated to
the railroad segment associated with the Deas and Whiteley detachments
of the Cherokee Trail of Tears or to the American Store, and no adverse
visual and physical impacts are anticipated to Brides Hill or to the
National Register of Historic Places-listed Wheeler Hydroelectric
Project.
TVA consulted with the AHC and federally recognized Indian tribes
under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act regarding
these findings, avoidance measures and MOA.
Public Involvement
On September 1, 2023, TVA published a Notice of Intent (NOI) in the
Federal Register announcing plans to prepare an EIS to assess the
potential environmental effects associated with constructing,
operating, maintaining, and decommissioning the Hillsboro Solar
Facility in Lawrence County, AL. The NOI initiated a 30-day public
scoping period that concluded on October 2, 2023. The NOI solicited
public input on the scope of the EIS and the environmental issues that
should be considered in the EIS. During the public scoping period, TVA
received comments from the National Park Service (NPS), the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and four private individuals.
Comments were related to alternatives; component sourcing;
decommissioning and waste management; land use; soils and prime
farmland; water resources; biological resources; natural areas, parks,
and recreation; visual resources; cultural resources; socioeconomics;
and impacts of reasonably foreseeable actions.
A Notice of Availability was released for the Draft EIS on January
17, 2025, in the Federal Register (90 FR 5877) initiating a 45-day
public comment period, which ended on March 3, 2025. The availability
of the Draft EIS was announced in regional and local newspapers serving
the project area and on TVA's social media accounts. A news release was
issued to the media and posted on TVA's website. The Draft EIS was
posted on TVA's website, and hard copies were made available by
request. During the public comment period, TVA held a public meeting on
February 18, 2025, to describe the Project and address questions by the
public at the RA Hubbard High School in North Courtland, AL. TVA
accepted comments submitted through mail, email, a comment form on
TVA's public website, and during the public meeting. TVA received 46
comments from the public and one comment from the USEPA for a total of
47 comments. TVA carefully reviewed the comments received and, where
appropriate, revised text in the Final EIS. The NOA for the Final EIS
was published in the Federal Register on June 27, 2025 (90 FR 27538).
Decision
TVA certifies, in accordance with 18 CFR 1318, that the agency has
considered the alternatives, information, analyses, material in the
record determined to be relevant, and submitted by State, Tribal, and
local governments and public commenters for consideration in developing
the Final EIS. TVA has decided to implement the preferred alternative
of the EIS, which would result in the construction, operation,
maintenance, and eventual decommissioning of the proposed solar PV
facility, as well as the construction, operation, and maintenance of a
substation and associated facilities to interconnect the solar PV
facility to TVA's existing electrical transmission network. This
alternative would achieve the purpose and need of the Project.
Mitigation Measures
Hillsboro Solar and TVA would employ standard practices and routine
measures and other project-specific measures to avoid, minimize, and
mitigate adverse impacts from implementation of the Proposed Action
Alternative. Hillsboro Solar and TVA would also implement minimization
and mitigation measures based on BMPs, permit requirements, and
adherence to erosion and sediment control plans. Non-routine mitigation
measures associated with land use and soils, biological, visual, and
cultural resources:
<bullet> Land Use and Soils
[cir] Establish and maintain 50 acres of species-rich native plant
meadow areas that would promote pollinators on the Project site; reduce
erosion; and limit the spread of invasive species;
<bullet> Biological Resources
[cir] Minimize direct impacts to tree-roosting bats proposed for
federal listing by implementing a 600-foot solar facility setback from
known bat roost trees;
[cir] In areas requiring tree removal, clearing activities would be
limited to the winter clearing window, October 1 through March 14, to
minimize impacts to wildlife and protected species.
<bullet> Visual Resources
[cir] Implement a 300-foot solar facility setback from US 72A/SR20;
<bullet> Cultural
Provide a venue at the RA Hubbard Community Center's African
American Heritage Gallery to display the previously developed WSRHD
traveling exhibit ensuring the exhibit is interactive and accessible to
a wide audience, including school groups and community members; develop
and donate display cases to the RA Hubbard Center incorporating
existing collections and relevant artifacts associated with the
Hillsboro Solar Facility archaeological survey.
Dated: July 29, 2025.
Monika Beckner,
Vice President, Power Supply and Fuels, Tennessee Valley Authority.
[FR Doc. 2025-15163 Filed 8-7-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8120-08-P
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