TVA urged to rely less on fossil plants

TVA urged to rely less on fossil plants
By Jacques Billeaud
News-Sentinel staff writer

TVA needs to work harder at lowering emissions at its coal-fired power plants and improving its record as one of the country's worst polluters, the Tennessee Clean Air Task Force said.

In a report released Tuesday, the group commended TVA for plans to install pollutant-reducing equipment at five plants but called for the agency to rely less on coal to produce power.

Customers will likely have to pay larger electricity bills in the future if they want cleaner air, predicted Stephen Smith, executive director of the Tennessee Valley Energy Reform Coalition and co-author of the report.

"We are enjoying low rates because we are using old dirty power plants," Smith said.

The report is the first of four documents the task force intends to produce on the effects of pollution on human health and national parks. Its final report will propose solutions, Smith said.

The task force, made up of several health and conservation organizations, cited rankings showing TVA as the nation's second largest emitter of nitrogen oxides and the third largest emitter of sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide.

The pollutants contribute to acid rain, reduced visibility and global warming, the report said.

TVA's status as the nation's largest power producer must be factored into the rankings, said TVA spokeswoman Barbara Martocci.

The agency produces power for 8 million customers.

"By being the largest producer, we have more emissions than other utilities," Martocci said.

Still, TVA's average emissions exceed national rates, the report said.

TVA has complied with air emission standards and is committed to reducing pollutants, Martocci said.

Martocci said studies show that air quality has improved.

The clean-air group disagrees.

Concentrations of ozone in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park exceed safe levels regularly, contribute to reduced visibility and are harmful to humans, the report said.

To reduce pollution, TVA needs to retire some of its 11 coal-fired plants, which generate two-thirds of the agency's power, because they are on average 40 years old, the report recommends.

Putting new pollution-reducing equipment on an old plant is, in the end, not the answer, Smith said.

"That's like taking a 1950s car and slapping retrofits on it," Smith said. "It's not as efficient as a new car."

TVA has no plans to close any of its 11 coal-fired plants, Martocci said. "It's simple to say you need to replace all coal plants, but it's difficult and expensive and complicated to do," Martocci said.

TVA has made strides in bringing on line its Browns Ferry and Watts Bar nuclear units, as well as making its hydroelectric plants more modern, Martocci said.

The report recommends switching some of the coal-fired plants to natural gas and mentions that TVA hopes to offer renewable energy, such as wind and solar power.

In July, TVA announced a $500 million to $600 million plan to install equipment at five plants to reduce nitrogen oxide, a pollutant that forms ozone. The plan will include a 75 percent reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions by 2003.

While TVA directors voted last month not to increase power rates, Martocci couldn't say whether the pollutant-reducing initiative will affect future rates.

"We will have to look at it year by year," she said.

Jacques Billeaud may be reached at 423-521-1833 or billeaud@knews.com.