Stewart County, Tennessee
Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
Following the publication of the 2019 IRP, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) began conducting end-of-life evaluations of our coal fleet to inform long-term planning. TVA’s recent evaluation confirms that the aging coal fleet is among the oldest in the nation and is experiencing deterioration of material condition and performance challenges. The performance challenges are projected to increase because of the coal fleet’s advancing age and the difficulty of adapting the fleet’s generation within the changing generation profile; and, in general, because the coal fleet is contributing to environmental, economic, and reliability risks.
Due to the reasons listed above, TVA intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to assess the impacts associated with the proposed retirement of the two coal-fired units at the Cumberland Fossil Plant (CUF) and the construction and operation of facilities to replace part of the retired generation. To recover the generation capacity lost from retirement of one CUF unit, TVA is proposing the addition of approximately 1,450 MW of replacement generation. Replacement generation for the second retired CUF unit would likely consist of some combination of gas, solar, and storage, but the planning for that generation can be deferred to allow more time to assess the specific types and locations of that generation. Additional tiered NEPA analysis will be completed as these future generation needs are identified.
TVA plans to consider three action alternatives in the EIS: (A) Retirement of CUF and construction and operation of a Combined Cycle Combustion Turbine (CC) Gas Plant at the same site; (B) Retirement of CUF and construction and operation of Simple Cycle Combustion Turbine (CT) Gas Plants at alternate locations; (C) Retirement of CUF and construction and operation of Solar and Storage Facilities, primarily at alternate locations. Whether these or other alternatives are reasonable warranting further consideration under NEPA would be determined in the course of preparing the EIS. Connected actions, such as the natural gas pipeline and transmission upgrades, will also be considered in this assessment.
Public Involvement
TVA is requesting public comments on the scope of the EIS, alternatives being considered, and environmental issues that should be addressed as a part of this EIS. TVA is also requesting data, information and analysis relevant to the proposed action from the public; affected Federal, State, tribal, and local governments, agencies, and offices; the scientific community; industry; or any other interested party.
The public scoping period runs until June 10, 2021. Written comments should be sent to Ashley Pilakowski at the address listed below. Comments may also be submitted online here, or by email at nepa@tva.gov. To ensure consideration, comments on the scope and environmental issues must be postmarked, emailed or submitted online no later than June 10, 2021. Please note that, due to current TVA requirements many employees are working remotely, TVA recommends the public submit comments electronically to ensure their timely review and consideration.
Virtual public meeting room
A virtual public meeting room will be available throughout the entire 30 day public comment period.
Enter the virtual public meeting room
Virtual scoping open house
TVA will also host an online open house on May 27, 2021, from 5:30 – 7:00 CDT.
Register for the virtual scoping open house
Posters and Maps from the Meeting
Welcome
Purpose and Need
Project Alternatives
NEPA and Scoping
NEPA Schedule
Project Alternatives Maps
Public Meeting Agenda
Related Documents:
Contact
More information on this environmental review can be obtained from:
Ashley Pilakowski
NEPA Specialist
aapilakowski@tva.gov
865-632-2256
400 West Summit Hill Drive, WT 11B
Knoxville, TN 37902
Shut the coal down. TVA must build clean renewable energy systems and employ more people in the process.
It is coming, sooner than we thought, whether we like it or not.