Memphis Light, Gas, and Water is moving forward with plans to integrate solar energy and battery storage into its system, a move utility leaders say will improve reliability, affordability, and long-term sustainability.
MLGW President and CEO Doug McGowen announced at a news conference Wednesday, March 5, that the utility will issue a request for proposal (RFP) on March 14, 2025, seeking vendors to provide 100 megawatts of solar generation and up to 80 megawatts of utility-scale battery storage. The deadline for proposals is April 28, 2025, with the first operation expected in the third quarter of 2026.
“This is a big deal for our community,” McGowen said. “For the first time, solar is going to allow us to generate energy locally at a very affordable rate, and the utility-scale batteries are going to allow us to ‘peak shave’ – dispatching stored electricity during periods of high demand.”
McGowen emphasized the initiative is part of a broader effort to improve infrastructure and energy resilience.
“This gives us the ability to generate some of our own power and to have that hedge of resilience with battery storage. This is the first step in what will be, over time, a much larger storage project,” he said.
Strengthening the grid
Mayor Paul Young, MLGW Board Chairman Carl Coleman, and other city officials at the news conference, highlighted the utility’s continued push for grid modernization and storm resilience.
“As storms become stronger and summers get hotter, we need to think about new ways to keep the power on,” Young said. “Solar and battery storage will be powerful tools in our energy arsenal.”
McGowen pointed to the utility’s aggressive investments in infrastructure – such as expanded tree-trimming programs – as factors that contributed to 2024 being MLGW’s most reliable year in the past six years. “We are not at our reliability goals yet, but we are moving toward where we should be,” he said.
Young added that a reliable energy grid is essential for economic development.
“A stronger grid makes Memphis more attractive to businesses, and reliability is something we highlight when we recruit companies to the area,” Young said.
How solar and batteries will work
MLGW’s plan calls for the installation of solar generation alongside battery storage, which will allow the utility to store electricity for use during peak demand periods such as extreme heat waves or cold snaps.
“The sun doesn’t shine all the time, which is why you capture and store some of that energy in batteries for later use,” McGowen said.
Partnership with TVA and future expansion
MLGW’s existing power supply contract with the Tennessee Valley Authority will remain unchanged, but McGowen confirmed that both parties are committed to finalizing a solar and battery project agreement. MLGW serves more than 429,000 customers in Memphis and Shelby County and is the largest three-service public utility in the nation.
“This does nothing to change our fundamental power agreement with TVA,” he said. “It will be memorialized in a separate side agreement.”
The RFP process will be flexible – MLGW is open to multiple vendors and sites, including potential locations outside Memphis and Shelby County. Priority, however, will be given to land MLGW already owns and not usable for other purposes.
Companies interested in bidding on the solar and battery project can contact TaShay Yates, procurement contracts specialist II, at DistributedEnergyRFP@mlgw.org.
