A conditional use permit was approved by the Knoxville City Council Monday Night for Love’s Travel Stop to install a solar farm. The proposed solar farm would be located on the Love’s property south of the convenience store and north of the commercial truck entrance. The approval included a $50,000 bond for its decommissioning plan from Love’s for the arrays that includes a fence and cover around the property. The panels also cannot be put over other utilities such as the water line. Ruyle Mechanical Services Inc. representative Kiersten Sheets attended the meeting and informed the council that, much like a computer, the solar modules will grow old quickly and will be updated by Love’s for newer-tech modules. “R & D on solar modules is advancing at such a rate that there will probably be an after-market for these types of modules to go to other countries and then organizations like Love’s will upgrade the whole thing,” Sheets said. “But that’s all part of the decommissioning equation. At a minimum, there will be a recycling value to these modules in addition to a possible after-market value.” Sheets told the council that the project would begin this year if selected by the Solar Renewable Energy Credits state lottery.
