Three environmental groups have sued the Tennessee Valley Authority, alleging the agency did not seriously consider renewable energy sources before forging ahead with a natural gas plant at its soon-to-be-decommissioned Kingston coal facility.
“As a federal utility, TVA has to evaluate the impacts and alternatives of its proposals,” Trey Bussey, a staff attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center, said in a phone call. “Here, TVA went backwards. It committed to the Kingston gas plant and then put out a shoddy environmental review purporting to study those things. The end result is a gas plant that’s going to cost folks money, raise power bills and pollute the community in East Tennessee in particular.”
The Southern Environmental Law Center is representing three plaintiffs — Appalachian Voices, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club — in federal court. Under the National Environmental Policy Act, TVA must study environmental impacts and evaluate reasonable alternatives before committing to a proposed project.
“TVA had cleaner, more affordable options on the table,” Bussey said.
(READ MORE: TVA’s long-term power planning sparks concerns from clean energy advocates)