TVA Blows Off Wind Project

Citing a lack of need for more energy resources, Tennessee Valley Authority President Bill Johnson walked away from what would have been one of the nation’s largest wind deals, according to the Times Free Press.

“We’re looking at a power demand in the future that is flat, or declining slightly, so we don’t anticipate needing major additions to power generation for a decade or more,” he told the publication.

The project would have transmitted wind-generated energy from Oklahoma and Texas into the Southeast.

“This was one of the best renewable energy deals in the Southeast and could have brought 3,500 megawatts of clean, renewable power to our region at an extremely low cost — cheaper than what TVA is now paying for its power,” Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, told the paper.

— Elizabeth E. Payne