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Blockbuster Agreement Takes 18 Dirty TVA Coal-Fired Power Plant Units Offline
Case Updates:
April 14, 2011
In a monumental victory for clean air and communities in the Southeastern U.S., on April 14, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) board of directors approved a landmark agreement with three citizen groups, four states and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that will drastically reduce air pollution from coal-fired power plants in the region. The agreement requires TVA to phase out 18 units at dirty, coal plants and install modern pollution controls on three dozen additional units, thanks to more than 11 years of pressure from environmental groups, Southeastern states and the EPA. The blockbuster agreement – which includes the affected states of Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee – represents the largest ever reduction in air pollution in the Southeastern U.S. The agreement permanently retires an unprecedented 2,700 megawatts of dirty coal-fired electricity and will drastically reduce TVA’s emissions of dangerous sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury, and carbon pollution. Clean Air Task Force estimates that coal plants in the region cause more than 1,800 premature deaths and more than 2,400 heart attacks each year in the four-state region, and are a major source of area air pollution woes. TVA’s coal plants are also responsible for visibility problems and acid rain damage in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the country's most visited national park.
The agreement also requires TVA to invest $350 million in the four states of Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee on additional air pollution-reduction projects over the next five years, including funds to help consumers and business cut their energy bills, support local businesses that are creating jobs in local clean energy projects, and cut carbon pollution.
This agreement resolves a series of legal challenges against TVA brought by the environmental groups and the four states. The legal actions stemmed from allegations that TVA had unlawfully extended the life of its coal plants without installing modern pollution controls. The plaintiff groups – Sierra Club, National Parks Conservation Association, and Our Children's Earth Foundation – are represented by George Hays, William Moore, Wade Davies, Reed Zars, and Mike Costa.
Details and Documents:
TVA Thank You Letter to William Moore
May 23, 2011
Blockbuster Agreement Takes 18 Dirty TVA Coal-Fired Power Plant Units Offline
April 14, 2011, Sierra Club et al. Press Release
News Articles:
A Victory for Cleaner Air, and the Law
April 17, 2011, New York Times editorial
TVA Agrees to Shut Down 18 Coal-Fired Boilers and Curb Emissions
April 15, 2011 by Dina Fine Maron, ClimateWire
TVA to retire 18 coal boilers in landmark pact
April 14, 2011 by Gabriel Nelson, Greenwire
Coal power: TVA agrees to phase out 18 units, shift to cleaner fuels
April 14, 2011 by Mark Clayton, Christian Science Monitor
More Info:
See other "Retiring Old Coal" cases.