Clean Energy for the Tennessee Valley?

[irishbobcat]

Clean Energy for the Tennessee Valley?
By Kate Galbraith
The Tennessee Valley Authority said it has seen the writing on the wall.
Even as it works to clean up last December's coal-ash spill, the Tennessee Valley Authority is trying to figure out how to add wind power to its largely coal, nuclear and hydro mix.
The T.V.A., a giant, federally operated power provider that was set up during the New Deal, is not subject to a mandate to produce renewable power. But it has seen the writing on the wall when it comes to federal policy, according to Joe Hoagland, the T.V.A.'s vice president for environmental science, technology and policy.
"We do expect to have to meet some sort of standards around carbon and renewables, and the goal here is to be prepared to do that," Mr. Hoagland said in an interview on Wednesday.
The T.V.A. currently gets less than 1 percent of its power from wind and solar sources and methane gas from a wastewater treatment plant. About 60 percent of its generation comes from coal plants, another 30 percent from nuclear and around 10 percent from dams.
The T.V.A. is looking to make its dams run more efficiently, and to add additional nuclear units. It also hopes to purchase some 2,000 megawatts of renewable power, or about 6 percent of its current peak load. Mostly, the T.V.A. is looking to add wind power from the Dakotas and elsewhere in the Midwest. Solar, Mr. Hoagland said, is "hard to justify" because of the costs.
Stephen Smith, executive director of Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said that the T.V.A. ought to develop renewable energy sources in the area, rather than buy wind power from other states.
"We know that the sun shines and the winds blow and trees do grow in the South," he said.
Mr. Hoagland maintains that the wind does not blow as strongly in the valley as in the Dakotas, and also that local winds blow at the wrong time.
"We need it in the afternoon, and frankly it's not available then," he said of valley wind power.
Some Tennesseans are also worried about the T.V.A.'s commitment to energy efficiency.
The T.V.A. had budgeted $99 million for pilot efficiency programs this year, according to Mr. Hoagland. But the coal-ash cleanup will cost at least $500 million — and that, combined with lower revenues from electricity sales owing to a recession-induced 9 percent drop in demand, has eaten into the T.V.A.'s budget. Mr. Hoagland admitted that the efficiency program and others were likely to be cut.
"You have to kind of look across all of your operations, and figure out what's the best place to take the dollars from," he said.
When will we see clean energy come to the Ohio Valley?
Dennis Spisak
Mahoning Valley Green Party
Ohio Green Party
www.ohiogreens.org
www.votespisak.org/thinkgreen/