Tennessee Valley Authority Defies McConnell With Coal Cut

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-14/tennessee-valley-authority-defies-mcconnell-with-coal-cut.html


Plumes of water vapor emit from the Tennessee Valley Authority Paradise Fossil Plant in Paradise, Kentucky on Aug. 13, 2013. The plant generates and delivers 14 billion kilowatt-hours of coal-fired electricity per year to Western Kentucky and Nashville, Tennessee.

The Tennessee Valley Authority said it will cut its use of coal-fired electrical generation by about half of current levels, shuttering some units and converting others to burn natural gas to meet tighter emission-control regulations.

The board of the Knoxville, Tennessee-based public utility voted today to close eight coal-burning generators. Among them are two that will be shut and converted to burn natural gas at Paradise Fossil Plant in western Kentucky, which U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who represents the state, had urged be kept as coal units.

It is the second time in three years the federally run utility has announced a reduction in coal-fired generation and comes as low natural gas prices and environmental regulations have cut into coal use nationwide. The TVA said it aims to pare the use of coal power to 20 percent of its total generation, down from 38 percent in fiscal year 2013 and 52 percent in 2011.

“Our generating fleet has to look different than it has in the past,” Bill Johnson, TVA’s chief executive officer, told the board. “This will support our focus on cleaner energy and bring additional, necessary balance into our portfolio.”