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Clean energy groups are defending TVA. They’re also suing it

Contributed photo / In September 2024, members of organizations from the Clean Up TVA coalition, which include three groups suing TVA, and Tennessee residents pose for a photo during a rally in Nashville.
Contributed photo / In September 2024, members of organizations from the Clean Up TVA coalition, which include three groups suing TVA, and Tennessee residents pose for a photo during a rally in Nashville. Contributed photo / In September 2024, members of organizations from the Clean Up TVA coalition, which include three groups suing TVA, and Tennessee residents pose for a photo during a rally in Nashville.

By Daniel Dassow 10 min read

The same environmental nonprofits that are suing the Tennessee Valley Authority in federal court have stepped out as vocal defenders of the utility’s public power model in the face of an unpredictable Trump administration.

The Sierra Club, Appalachian Voices and the Center for Biological Diversity sued the nation’s largest public power provider in October 2024 over its plans to replace a coal-fired plant with a natural gas plant.

Climate groups have been the staunchest opponents of TVA’s reliance on a less-polluting fossil fuel, pushing the utility instead toward solar and wind energy.

But after President Donald Trump fired three TVA board members, including two clean energy advocates, and the White House unsuccessfully pressured the federal utility’s board to fire its CEO, the groups turned their megaphones to supporting the federally owned company.

Clean energy groups are defending TVA. They’re also suing it

Contributed photo / In September 2024, members of organizations from the Clean Up TVA coalition, which include three groups suing TVA, and Tennessee residents pose for a photo during a rally in Nashville.
Contributed photo / In September 2024, members of organizations from the Clean Up TVA coalition, which include three groups suing TVA, and Tennessee residents pose for a photo during a rally in Nashville.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / In 2023, an electric vehicle charging station is seen at the TVA Chattanooga Office Complex. Environmental groups have spent years critiquing TVA's plans to build natural gas-fired power plants but have also defended the federal utility's public model.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / In 2023, an electric vehicle charging station is seen at the TVA Chattanooga Office Complex. Environmental groups have spent years critiquing TVA’s plans to build natural gas-fired power plants but have also defended the federal utility’s public model.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / On Sept. 9, 2025, Chris Delmas holds a sign from the Party for Socialism and Liberation for motorists to read outside the TVA offices on Market Street. The group was calling for protecting the agency from the Trump administration. Several nonprofits and political groups have rallied against privatization of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / On Sept. 9, 2025, Chris Delmas holds a sign from the Party for Socialism and Liberation for motorists to read outside the TVA offices on Market Street. The group was calling for protecting the agency from the Trump administration. Several nonprofits and political groups have rallied against privatization of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Staff photo by Daniel Dassow / Environmental groups have sued TVA over its plans to replace generation at the Kingston coal plant, pictured May 27, 2025, with a natural gas-fired power plant. They have also defended TVA's public power model.
Staff photo by Daniel Dassow / Environmental groups have sued TVA over its plans to replace generation at the Kingston coal plant, pictured May 27, 2025, with a natural gas-fired power plant. They have also defended TVA’s public power model.
Staff photo by Daniel Dassow / On May 27, 2025, the unused 1,000-foot stacks at TVA's Kingston coal-fired power plant are pictured. Environmental groups have sued TVA over its plans to replace generation at the plant with a nearby natural gas-fired power plant. They have also defended TVA's public power model.
Staff photo by Daniel Dassow / On May 27, 2025, the unused 1,000-foot stacks at TVA’s Kingston coal-fired power plant are pictured. Environmental groups have sued TVA over its plans to replace generation at the plant with a nearby natural gas-fired power plant. They have also defended TVA’s public power model.
In 2019, the Kingston Fossil Plant smokestacks rise above the trees behind homes in Kingston, Tenn. Environmental groups that sued TVA over its plans to replace the plant with a nearby natural gas-fired power plant have also defended the federal utility's model. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
In 2019, the Kingston Fossil Plant smokestacks rise above the trees behind homes in Kingston, Tenn. Environmental groups that sued TVA over its plans to replace the plant with a nearby natural gas-fired power plant have also defended the federal utility’s model. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Without any proposal from the Trump administration to sell off parts or all of TVA, climate groups released a statement in July celebrating the utility’s freedom from the interests of shareholders. The groups have since released statements opposing Trump’s five nominees to the TVA board of directors, which is operating without a quorum for the first time in more than 25 years.