Eighty-eight years after the Tennessee Valley Authority was created to harness the power of the Tennessee River, America’s biggest public utility is turning to the sun, splitting atoms and natural gas plants to power its future.
The power shift outlined in a new strategic guide endorsed Thursday by TVA directors will phase out coal-fired power generation by 2035 to help limit the emission of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. TVA plans next week to give the required notice to begin the process of shutting down the two-unit Cumberland Fossil plant in Cumberland City, Tennessee – TVA’s biggest coal plant – and by July TVA should give notice of its plans to close the nine-unit Kingston fossil plant in Kingston, Tennessee.
TVA President Jeff Lyash said the federal utility, which has already cut its carbon emissions by 63% in the past decade and a half, should cut its carbon output from the 2005 levels by at least 70% by 2030 and by 80% by 2035 when all of the coal plants are idled. Lyash said the carbon cuts should be made while keeping electric rates stable, boosting the electrification of transportation and maintaining TVA’s 20-year-plus record of 99.999% reliability.
“We believe that maintaining balance between price, reliability, carbon reduction efforts and economywide electrification will deliver a sustainable economic advantage,” TVA’s strategic plan says.
TVA plans to add up to 10,000 megawatts of additional solar power generation by 2035, including 2,300 megawatts already underway for deployment within the next two years. That represents a 24-fold jump in solar generation, Lyash said.