In June 2019, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) completed an Integrated Resource Plan and recommended the expansion of solar generating capacity by up to 14,000 megawatts (MW) by 2038. According to TVA’s fiscal year 2020 Sustainability Report, TVA set a sustainability aspiration to achieve 10,000 MW of solar generation by 2035. To help achieve this goal, TVA purchased 3,000 acres to construct an estimated 200 MW solar facility in Lawrence County, Alabama. TVA purchased 139,750 solar panels, totaling $30 million, in December 2019 for installation at the Lawrence County Solar (LCS) project. TVA began receiving these solar panels in late January 2020 and received the final shipment on March 30, 2020. The project was originally estimated to be in service by December 2023. Due to delays in the LCS project, the solar panels purchased in 2019 were transferred to another TVA project. TVA subsequently purchased an additional 581,250 solar panels for $92.7 million in May 2023 for installation at the LCS project.
TVA’s Standard Programs and Processes 34.000, Project Management, states risk assessments should be performed as early as possible in a project to identify critical technical, performance, schedule, and cost risks. Due to the length of time the solar panels purchased in 2019 for the LCS project have been in inventory, we performed an audit of TVA’s assessment of risks associated with solar panel purchases for the LCS project. Our audit objective was to determine if TVA assessed risks in accordance with applicable policies and procedures prior to the purchase of solar panels for the LCS project. Our audit scope included the solar panels purchased in calendar years 2019 and 2023.
We determined TVA (1) did not perform a risk assessment prior to purchasing solar panels in 2019 and (2) only performed a partial risk assessment prior to the purchase of the 2023 solar panels. Additionally, the solar panels purchased in 2023 were procured after the project had been placed on hold by TVA.
