General Motors expects its Spring Hill Manufacturing plant will be powered by 100% solar energy beginning in late 2022.

A green tariff agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority is expected to supply up to 100 megawatts of solar energy per year, or the amount of electricity consumed by 18,000 United States households annually. The energy will be supplied by a solar farm in Lowndes County, Mississippi, currently under development by Origis Energy.

The commitment is made possible through the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Green Invest program, which is the federal electric utility’s green tariff solution.

This project is expected to increase GM’s use of renewable energy to more than 50% of its sourced electricity by 2023, moving GM closer to its goal of sourcing 100% of electricity from renewables in the US by 2030 at GM-owned sites.

Green tariff solutions are a key component of GM’s renewable energy strategy and allow the company to work with utilities to provide renewable energy solutions near its facilities.

Spring Hill Manufacturing is the largest GM facility in North America, totaling 2,100 acres. Seven hundred of those acres are dedicated to farming, with an additional 100 acres dedicated to wildlife habitat, composing of wetlands and native grasses. The wildlife area has received Gold recognition and certification from the Wildlife Habitat Council. The plant builds the GMC Acadia and the Cadillac XT5 and XT6, as well as several engines.

GM is ranked 12 on the US Environmental Protection Agency’s National Top 100 List of the largest green power users from their Green Power Partnership program. According to the EPA, GM’s choice to use green power helps advance the voluntary market for renewable energy, as well as the development of those sources.

By moving the needle in the voluntary green power market, GM and other Green Power Partners are helping to reduce the negative health impacts of air emissions, including those related to ozone, fine particles, acid rain and regional haze.