Two climate nonprofits sued the Tennessee Valley Authority in federal court over the federal utility’s plan to run coal-fired and gas-fired power plants simultaneously at a Middle Tennessee site.
Appalachian Voices and the Sierra Club, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.
The groups allege TVA violated the Clean Air Act by not obtaining the proper permits to construct and operate a new gas plant, bypassing pollution controls.
TVA, the nation’s largest government-owned power provider, decided in 2023 to retire the two-unit Cumberland coal-fired plant in two stages. The first unit was scheduled for closure by the end of 2026 and the second unit by the end of 2028.