If you want to have a say in the Tennessee Valley Authority’s plan for the next couple of decades of providing energy for the Southeast, you have less than a month to do so. The TVA has posted its latest rendition of the Integrated Resource Plan, based on increasing demand for energy in the Valley, with comments accepted until July 22.
The latest IRP from TVA calls for meeting needs of between 11 and 32 gigawatts (GW) of increased capacity by 2040, mostly with more natural gas. New nuclear technology remains a centerpiece of planning, as well. TVA now calls for potentially less capacity added through solar than did earlier draft plans just a couple of years ago. It also calls for maintaining coal-fired power plants for more than another decade. The TVA report notes changes in federal policy affect its planning.
You can read the entire posted IRP and related items online here, and submit comments here on the TVA website or at the email IRP@tva.gov. TVA is hosting a public webinar to explain the IRP on July 2, and you can register for that here. An anticipated TVA board vote to approve the plan is ahead on August 20.
In a draft executive summary, the IRP states, “Finally, TVA evaluates variations in electricity demand, commodity prices, resource costs, and United States (U.S.) energy policy to ensure plans are risk-informed and flexible to adapt as the future evolves.”
TVA says it decides on its energy mix based on the lowest cost. The Energy Information Administration documents that solar remains the lowest-cost choice, significantly lower in levelized cost of energy than coal or nuclear plants.
Tennessee Projects Coordinator Leah McCord with Appalachian Voices responded to the IRP process by saying, “TVA was built by the labor and wallets of the households of the Tennessee Valley. We hope those same ratepayers take advantage of this chance to tell TVA to prioritize their needs by investing in efficiency and affordable, fast, renewable energy instead of doubling down on expensive fossil fuels and the unpredictability that comes along with them.”
Anne Brock-Rankin is Marketing Coordinator for Solar Alliance, a renewable energy company based in Knoxville. She can be reached at abrock@solaralliance.com.
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