# Hardeman County, Tennessee: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Bolivar and Whiteville Hardeman County is where a large share of Tennessee's next power plants are planned. Hardeman County is home to Bolivar, Whiteville and Middleton. 55 MW of new generation is planned here across 1 unit, led by SR Middleton, LLC (solar), the 6th largest pipeline among Tennessee's counties. 55 MW of it is already under construction or built. Construction employs 148, up 27.6% since 2019. Employers here counted 6,396 jobs in 2025, down 7.2% from 2019. 3 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly solar. 55 MW of new generation planned here, solar leading -7.2% total jobs since 2019, now 6,396 18 MW of operating power plants, mostly solar ## Cities and towns in Hardeman County Hardeman County is home to Bolivar, Whiteville and Middleton. Bolivar5,043 residents Whiteville4,482 residents Middleton731 residents Grand Junction312 residents · 97% of the city Toone264 residents Hornsby258 residents Saulsbury113 residents Silerton98 residents Hickory Valley80 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Essary Springs, Pocahontas. Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in Hardeman County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Tennessee | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 25,435 | 25,274 | ▼ 0.6% | 60th of 95 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 6,892 | 6,396 | ▼ 7.2% | 89th of 95 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $39,765 | $53,425 | ▲ 34.4% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 116 | 148 | ▲ 27.6% | 27th of 55 by growth | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 5.1% | 5.1% | ● 0.0pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 3 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | | Planned generation (Aug 2026) | — | 55 MW | 301% of today's fleet | 6th of 12 by size | Its power plants have 18 MW of capacity, 100% of it solar. Southwest Tennessee E M C is the largest utility serving Hardeman County, one of 4 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 12.90¢/kWh in 2024, above the 12.22¢ median for Tennessee utilities. Unemployment was 5.1% in August 2026, against 5.1% in 2019. 25,274 people live here, down 0.6% since 2020. ## Who powers Hardeman County ### Utilities with service territory in Hardeman County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Southwest Tennessee E M C | Cooperative | Bundled | 43,750 | 12.90¢ | 26% | | Chickasaw Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 19,576 | 11.00¢ | 34% | | Pickwick Electric Coop | Cooperative | Bundled | 16,609 | 12.67¢ | 32% | | Bolivar Energy Authority | Municipal | Bundled | 8,929 | 13.50¢ | 35% | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. ### Operating power plants | Technology | Capacity | Share | |---|---|---| | Solar | 18 MW | 100% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Latitude Solar Center | Arevon Energy, Inc. | Solar | 15 MW | 2018 | | SR Bolivar | SR Bolivar, LLC | Solar | 3 MW | 2022 | ### Planned generation | Plant | Technology | MW | Status | Year | Owner | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | SR Middleton | Solar Photovoltaic | 55 MW | Under construction (>50%) | 2027 | SR Middleton, LLC | ## The Hardeman County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 6,396 | $53,425 | 1.00 | | Construction | 148 | $63,575 | 0.44 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in Hardeman County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Hardeman County. Tennessee has 38 local measures on record statewide. ## Hardeman County and its neighbors Of the 8 counties that border Hardeman County, Haywood County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[[[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Hardeman County | 25,274 | ▼ 7.2% | 18 MW | 55 MW | — | — | | Alcorn County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/alcorn-county) MS | 34,569 | ▼ 6.9% | — | — | — | — | | Benton County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/benton-county) MS | 7,502 | ▲ 10.4% | 1,004 MW | — | — | — | | Chester County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/chester-county) | 17,994 | ▲ 5.1% | — | — | — | — | | Fayette County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/fayette-county) | 45,071 | ▲ 5.4% | 180 MW | — | — | — | | Haywood County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/haywood-county) | 17,042 | ▲ 29.9% | 2,095 MW | 66 MW | — | — | | Madison County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/madison-county) | 100,790 | ▲ 2.7% | 87 MW | 42 MW | — | — | | McNairy County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/mcnairy-county) | 26,236 | ▲ 5.1% | 81 MW | — | — | — | | Tippah County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/mississippi/tippah-county) MS | 21,389 | ▲ 10.0% | — | — | — | — | ## More of Tennessee [All Tennessee countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee)[Madison County100,790 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/madison-county)[Fayette County45,071 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/fayette-county)[McNairy County26,236 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/mcnairy-county)[Chester County17,994 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/chester-county)[Haywood County17,042 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/haywood-county) ## Hardeman County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Hardeman County, Tennessee? 4 utilities have service territory in Hardeman County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Southwest Tennessee E M C, Chickasaw Electric Coop, Inc, Pickwick Electric Coop, Bolivar Energy Authority. The largest, Southwest Tennessee E M C, charged residential customers 12.90¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Hardeman County? 2 operating plants with 18 MW of capacity. The largest is Latitude Solar Center (15 MW, solar). ### How much new power is planned in Hardeman County? 55 MW across 1 units in the August 2026 EIA-860M inventory, 55 MW of it under construction or built. The largest owner is SR Middleton, LLC. ### Are there data centers in Hardeman County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Hardeman County. ### Is Hardeman County adding jobs? Employers counted 6,396 jobs in 2025 against 6,892 in 2019 (-7.2%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 116 to 148. ### Does Hardeman County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Hardeman County. Tennessee has 38 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/tennessee/hardeman-county Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).