Morgan Caplan, Morgan.Caplan@sierraclub.org
MUSCLE SHOALS, AL — As the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) continues to plow ahead with plans to replace its Kingston and Cumberland Fossil Plants with new methane gas facilities, concerned community members and environmental organizations attended a TVA listening session before the TVA Board Meeting on February 16th.
There is significant public opposition to these reckless gas plants and pipelines that will cut through Tennessee communities, imperil popular waterways, and threaten endangered species. Not only would it harm public health and the environment, it would also result in even higher power bills for families across the valley and would make TVA even more reliant on fossil fuel plants, which, just a few months ago, failed and forced TVA to implement rolling blackouts across its footprint.
If the gas plants are completed, they would release dangerous carbon pollution for decades to come and would exacerbate the effects of climate change that are already being felt in the Tennessee Valley, through more extreme flooding, increased temperatures, and longer periods of drought.
The following are statements from advocates and local residents:
“In continuing its gas build-out at the Cumberland plant and elsewhere, TVA is not ensuring reliable power for its customers. Instead, TVA will be making a twenty to thirty-year commitment to gas usage and to the gas infrastructure which will cause irreparable damage to the environment and quality of life in those communities near the gas power plant and pipeline. TVA will be committing to continued high greenhouse gas emissions that will cause damage far beyond the TVA service area, incorporating a plan that does not align with federal decarbonization goals, and does not take advantage of federal incentives for renewable energy. And TVA will be committing to a head-in-the-sand approach to climate change mitigation, despite the fact that the TVA Board acknowledged last May that extreme weather events were no longer anomalies.”
- JoAnn McIntosh, Sierra Club Tennessee State Chapter
“TVA cut energy efficiency programs by almost ⅔ after 2018, and they’ve completely removed incentive programs that help people get more efficient appliances. TVA has dropped its best reliability measure, all while rolling in money.”
- Kent Minault, Knoxville, TN
“Given the urgency of rapid emissions reductions to tackle the climate crisis, rising methane gas prices, and the disproportionate impact of fossil fuel reliance on communities of color and low-wealth communities, we believe it is critical that the Board takes more responsibility in guiding TVA towards a fossil fuel-free, affordable, reliable, equitable and resilient energy future.”
- The Clean Up TVA Coalition
“It’s been too long since the TVA board has held a meeting in Muscle Shoals at the birthplace of the TVA. Lives were greatly improved when TVA brought electricity to the residents of the Shoals and surrounding areas where I live. At this juncture in history facing the impending climate crisis, TVA has the ability to lead us now on the path of clean, renewable energy. The recent decisions of the CEO to heavily invest in gasification and experimental SMR development is going in the wrong direction. Up to 2019, TVA had programs which incentivized residential and commercial customers to install solar panels on their roofs. Instead of cutting these programs in favor of fossil fuels, TVA’s board should again move us forward by reinstating and maximizing the program.”
- Nancy Muse, Florence, AL
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.