From now until Tuesday, November 26, officials with the Tennessee Valley Authority are inviting the public to review and provide input in a draft Integrated Resource Plan, as well as an associated draft Environmental Impact Statement.
Both of these documents already contain preliminary observations made to meet the region’s need for future electricity, as well as a deeper study of potential environmental impacts.
However, TVA’s Director of Customer and Community Relations Amy Edge noted public opinion had to be weighed, in order to better assess the power provider’s next possible steps.
The 2025 IRP draft already contains suggestions like:
+ New capacity is needed in all scenarios to replace retiring and expiring capacity, support economic growth, and enable further electrification of the economy;
+ Firm, dispatchable generation technologies are needed to ensure system reliability throughout the year;
+ Solar expansion plays an increasingly substantial role, providing economic, carbon-free energy;
+ Natural gas expansion serves broad system needs, with the potential for emerging carbon capture and hydrogen options to enable deeper decarbonization;
+ Energy Efficiency deployment reduces energy needs, particularly between now and 2035, and Demand Response programs grow with the system and the use of smart technologies;
+ Storage expansion accelerates, driven by evolving battery technologies and the potential for additional pumped storage;
+ Wind additions have the potential to add more diversity and carbon-free energy to the resource mix;
+ And new nuclear technologies, with continued advancements, can support load growth and deeper decarbonization.
Transparent and inclusive, TVA’s IRP process will involve numerous opportunities for public participation and feedback. Its staff will host 12 open-door meetings and webinars across the region through the fall, while answering written and spoken questions from the public.
Virtual webinars will be available 6 PM Wednesday, October 30, and 11 AM Friday, November 22 through tva.com/irp. In the News Edge listening area, an in-person visit has been scheduled for 6 PM November 7 in Hopkinsville.
TVA’s seeking of public comments comes at the same time its Clean Energy Report became public, revealing that:
+ The company’s power supply is currently 43% nuclear, 30% natural gas, 13% coal-fired, 10% hydroelectric and 4% renewables;
+ Around 4,000 new megawatts is in commercial operation or under development;
+ And there should be an offsetting 30% of future load growth and lowering energy bills through the launch of an industry-leading $1.5 billion in energy efficiency and demand response programs.
