CLAY COUNTY – The Tennessee Valley Authority is seeking the public’s input on an environmental study conducted for a roughly $500 million solar development north of West Point.

Since Origis Energy’s Hope solar panel and battery storage proposal went public in March 2025, the TVA has been conducting an environmental impact statement to determine the project’s impacts, in line with the National Environmental Policy Act, said Julia Wise, TVA senior strategic communicator.

NEPA is a United States environmental law that requires federal agencies, or anyone acting on their behalf, to assess the environmental effects of proposed actions, including construction or development, on both the human and natural environment of an area, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency’s website.

Those federal actions include the TVA entering into a 20-year purchase agreement for electricity from Origis Energy’s new solar and battery development, Wise said.

The TVA released a draft of the project’s environmental impact statement Tuesday, which is open for public comment until Sept. 29.

“You can go on our website and actually see what that current document looks like, and … it is quite extensive,” Wise said. “But it goes through ground disturbance. Things like water (impact). I mean air, everything. And so what this comment period does (is it) essentially allows the public to see the things that our team has been looking at, and then gives the … public an opportunity to say, ‘Hey, did you think about X, Y, and Z?’ Or ‘Hey, I’m curious about this part.’”

The solar site, north of West Point alongside Highway 45 Alternate, is expected to produce 200 megawatts of solar power, enough to supply 60,000 residential homes, according to Origis Energy’s website, the company actually building the facility. The site would also have up to 400 megawatts of storage capacity.

The environmental impact statement, which includes ecological impacts related to land use, air quality and water, impact on utilities and an analysis of demographic information and safety hazards, found the development would only have “minor impacts” to the land and area.

The completion of the project is expected to bring between six and 12 full-time operations and maintenance positions at the site, the document said. It will also convert approximately 1,700 acres, 1,429 of which was previously farmland, to solar use.

The document said that affected land only represents about 1% of Clay County’s available farmland and will not cause significant damage to the land should the plant shut down. The statement said the land could be converted back to farmland later with minimal issues.

TVA’s decision, along with a final environmental impact statement, is expected to be made by early 2027, Wise said.

Origis is expected to break ground on the Hope site in mid-2027, Meryl Fisackerly, Golden Triangle Development LINK CEO, wrote in a text to The Dispatch.

Clay County has already approved a fee-in-lieu agreement of taxes on the project, which would be equal to one-third of the full tax amount for up to 10 years after it is developed.

Hope is Origis’ fourth project in the Golden Triangle, following Optimist, Golden Triangle I and Golden Triangle II developments.

“These developments are essential when you consider reliable energy and generation,” Fisackerly wrote. “This development contributes to the overall power generation mix that continues to make our area one of the most robust and reliable areas for electricity.”