CleanUpTVA Coalition statement on Tennessee Valley Authority’s draft Integrated Resource Plan release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23, 2024
CONTACT
Dan Radmacher, Media Specialist, (540) 798-6683, dan@appvoices.org
The Tennessee Valley Authority released its draft 2025 Integrated Resource Plan today in which the federal utility lays out plans for how it will meet electricity demand through the next 25 years.
Ahead of the IRP release, members of the CleanUpTVA coalition hosted the “Rally for the Valley” at Centennial Park in Nashville, to urge TVA leaders to stop the plans to build seven gas plants across the Tennessee Valley. Speakers including White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council Member LaTricea Adams, Memphis City Councilmember Pearl Walker and Nashville District 17 Council Member Terry Vo joined over 150 in-person attendees and 800 online attendees in demanding TVA advance a just transition to a fossil-fuel-free, renewable and affordable energy future for people across its seven-state territory. The rally also centered on TVA’s role as a public utility and the importance of meaningful public participation in its decision-making process, especially regarding decision-making on the 2025 IRP.
The public will have an opportunity to comment on the long-range plan ahead of the TVA Board of Directors’ vote to finalize the IRP next year. Beginning on Oct. 21 in Murphy, North Carolina, TVA will host 10 open houses throughout the Tennessee Valley, as well as two virtual webinars.
Statement by Leah McCord, Appalachian Voices’ Tennessee Projects Coordinator and facilitator of the CleanUpTVA Coalition :
“The CleanUpTVA Coalition is disappointed to see that TVA’s draft Integrated Resource Plan charts several possible courses to even more gas expansion in the Tennessee Valley, while communities are still fighting seven TVA gas plants and new pipelines that have been proposed in recent years. This is a critical juncture in TVA’s history, and our public utility should commit to a long term energy plan that lowers electric bills, reduces pollution and provides reliable power by building more clean and renewable resources instead of fossil fuels. The TVA Board of Directors should strengthen the final plan by hosting a public hearing that allows for modeling input from outside experts, as is industry standard for most utility IRPs.”
