What’s next?
* Public hearings on the draft Integrated Resource Plan will be conducted on April 6 in Knoxville; April 9 in Huntsville, Ala.; April 14 in Tupelo, Miss.; April 15 in Memphis; April 21 in Nashville, and April 22 in Bowling Green, Ky. A webinar will be offered during the Knoxville meeting as well at www.tva.com/irp * The TVA staff will present its recommendations on a final version of the plan to the TVA board of directors in August.
TVA’s energy future will be cleaner than in the past with more natural gas, energy efficiency and renewable energy sources replacing coal-fired generation.
But environmental activists Thursday night urged TVA to do even more to promote wind, solar and conservation to meet the power needs of the Tennessee Valley over the next 20 years.
A draft integrated resource plan developed over the past year and a half by TVA and key stakeholders outlines five different energy scenarios for the Tennessee Valley. All rely less upon coal, and more upon natural gas with some increases in both energy efficiency and solar power.
“Under all of our scenarios, TVA is going to be cleaner,” Chuck Nicholson, NEPA project manager, said Thursday night during the first of seven public hearings on TVA’s proposed long-range power plan.