Media Statement: TVA’s New Strategic Vision
Knoxville, Tenn. (August 20, 2010) — Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) supports TVA’s new strategic vision but remains concerned over TVA’s rush to expand its nuclear portfolio.
TVA’s Chief Executive Officer, Tom Kilgore, issued a new vision today calling for TVA to become “one of the nation’s leading providers of low-cost and cleaner energy by 2020.” Dr. Stephen A. Smith, Executive Director of SACE, applauds the vision as “directionally correct.”
TVA’s vision includes three components:
1. Becoming the Nation’s leader in improving our air quality;
2. Becoming the Nation’s leader in increased nuclear production; and
3. Becoming the Southeast’s leader in increased energy efficiency.
Towards that end, the board approved four steps at today’s meeting that will begin to move TVA towards achieving these goals:
1. Phasing out 1000 MW of older, unscrubbed coal units by 2015;
2. Moving forward with the next phase of the Bellefonte nuclear project, at a cost of
$250 million in fiscal year 2011;
3. Increasing TVA’s energy efficiency budget to $135 million in 2011, a 50% increase over 2010; and
4. Beginning the transition to time-of-use rates across the TVA service territory.
After this morning’s Board meeting, Dr. Smith was supportive of TVA’s decision to begin retiring its coal-fired fleet. “Retiring TVA’s dirty coal plants is absolutely the right path for TVA to take. We believe there are a significant number of older, inefficient, dirty plants, even beyond the 1000 MW that TVA is committing to retire today, that TVA should consider phasing out.”
SACE also welcomes TVA’s increased commitment to energy efficiency and its plan to become the Southeast leader in efficiency. “One of the most significant decisions reached today was a commitment to change the rate structure with the 155 TVA distributors and to move toward adopting time-of-use rates. This one move will significantly reduce overall energy demand across the Tennessee valley and give consumers greater control over their energy bills. TVA should strive to be not only a leader in the Southeast, but a national leader in energy efficiency, but we welcome their commitment to become a regional leader as a very achievable first step,” says Dr. Smith.
Despite the positive news from today’s meeting, SACE continues to have significant concerns regarding TVA’s enthusiasm for nuclear generation. “Nuclear power is a high-risk energy choice for both economic and environmental reasons, and we remain concerned with TVA’s prioritization of this generation technology,” Dr. Smith remarked.
To learn more about TVA’s announcement visit TVA’s statements and related fact sheets . # # # Southern Alliance for Clean Energy is a nonprofit organization that promotes responsible energy choices that create global warming solutions and ensure clean, safe, and healthy communities throughout the Southeast. www.cleanenergy.org