An acre of land at the intersection of Hays Mill and Sandlin roads will soon be home to a solar panel array as the city of Athens and the Tennessee Valley Authority partner with a local solar power firm to bring alternative energy to portions of the city of Athens.

An official with ACE Solar LLC, based out of Pulaski, Tennessee, announced the project Friday. The solar installation is only large enough to power about 50 homes, according to Steven Pitts, a spokesman for ACE Solar, but will be the starting point for utilities providers to offer cheaper energy to residents.

“While this system is not large enough to make a reduction on utility costs for the customers who pay about 12-14 cents per kilowatt-hour, it is a small step that should pave the way for larger installations to reduce the cost of utilities altogether,” Pitts wrote in a press release. “It’s just a small installment, but definitely a big step for solar energy.”

TVA spokesperson Kristine Shattuck-Cooper confirmed the project Monday, saying the federal agency has entered into a 20-year power purchase agreement with ACE.

“TVA is focused on a diverse portfolio, meaning we look for many different types of energy production,” she wrote in an email to The News Courier. “This includes coal, nuclear, hydro, gas, renewables and energy efficiency. We are making sound investments in a diversified portfolio so the region’s power supply is reliable, cleaner and at the lowest feasible cost to consumers. This agreement provides another 200 kW (kilowatts) of cost-effective renewable energy.”

ACE is acting on behalf of a Louisiana-based renewable energy investor named Paula Kraft, who is working with TVA to provide solar power to TVA service areas. Kraft contracted ACE for the job and the three organizations picked Limestone County and the city of Athens as a starting point.

This isn’t the first Alabama contract the Tennessee solar company has taken on. ACE was chosen by Cullman’s Appel Steel plant in 2013 to provide the same service that’s coming to Athens, Pitts said, adding the plant is almost ready to go completely off the municipal electrical grid.

“We’re doing a lot of interesting things,” Pitts said.

Kraft and TVA are working with ACE to secure state and federal incentives that will essentially pay for the $690,000 project by the end of April.

“You can’t stop solar,” ACE CEO Chuck Baggs said. “It’s cheaper to produce, it has a low-maintenance cost, it causes less stress on the environment and after local, state and federal incentives, it virtually pays for itself.”

Athens Utilities Director Gary Scroggins said Monday his department will receive the energy TVA buys from the solar installation and will be responsible for maintaining the equipment used to transfer the power from the solar field to the city’s grid. The installation isn’t large enough to take any demand off the city’s system, but has the potential to start a good thing in the future.