Groups speak out on data centers, long-term energy plan at TVA’s quarterly board meeting
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 20, 2026
CONTACT
Dan Radmacher, Media Specialist, (276) 289-1018, [email protected]
Today, the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors met for its third-quarter board meeting. In addition to approving the yearly budget, the board voted to approve TVA’s final 2026 Integrated Resource Plan and to create a new rate class for data centers. Environmental groups across the Valley, including Appalachian Voices and CleanUpTVA coalition partners, have been working to shape the outcomes on these critical issues.
Compared to the initial 2024 draft, the final 2026 IRP has higher electricity demand projections, the potential for up to 26 gigawatts of new methane gas by 2040 (up from 19 gigawatts by 2035 in the 2024 draft) and also plans to keep TVA’s aging coal power plants operational until at least 2039. TVA’s records have revealed that keeping these power plants open will require investments of $636 million at the Kingston Fossil Plant and $738 million at the Cumberland Fossil Plant.
TVA pointed to data centers as one of the major contributors to anticipated load growth. The IRP’s ranges for new power capacity additions through 2040 show that the utility will meet this increase with a major fossil fuel power plant expansion, putting the public at risk of higher electricity costs and more local pollution. If data center demand fails to materialize as TVA expects or if computing efficiencies reduce the load requirements for data centers, a new data center power plant fleet could become obsolete and the cost of paying for the assets could fall to TVA’s ratepayers.
“Data centers must pay their fair share, but that doesn’t mean they should be allowed to pollute our communities with the burden of more gas and coal emissions to power their operations,” said Leah McCord, Tennessee Projects Coordinator, Appalachian Voices. “Data centers that want to come into the Valley need to show that they are invested in benefiting the people here, including by improving our power grid and keeping our air and water clean with renewable power and battery storage.”
“TVA must act on what they hear from Memphis and other Tennesseans, because their perpetual silence on the harm coming from unchecked data center expansion is just as loud as all the noise they make,” said LaTricea D. Adams, MAT, EdS, Founder, CEO & President Young, Gifted & Green. “Black communities like Boxtown and Westwood are not sacrifice zones, and our aquifer is not a devil’s playground for industry. TVA can unlock solar expansion, fund water reuse and make its biggest customers keep their word. It is completely feasible to achieve all of this without impacting a single ratepayer… Make polluters pay!”
