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Released June 22, 2021 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) (Knoxville, Tennessee) has spent billions of dollars to clean and decarbonize its electric business in recent years, and heavy spending is planned for the next few years as it pursues an aspirational goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the agency said in a recent report.
Industrial Info is tracking 33 TVA capital projects valued at $2.6 billion that are scheduled to kick off over the next two years. Those projects include a steam generator replacement at the Watts Bar Nuclear Power Station, adding a total of 600 megawatts (MW) of gas-fired generation at the Paradise and Colbert power stations, modernizing several hydroelectric plants, constructing new solar generation and remediating coal ash ponds at several sites.
The report, TVA Strategic Intent and Guiding Principles, details how the agency has lowered its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by nearly two-thirds since fiscal year 2005, to 42.5 million tons in fiscal year 2020 from 116 million tons in fiscal year 2005, while transforming its fuel mix over the same time from 57% coal to 57% carbon-free resources. The agency saved about $1 billion in fuel and purchased power costs over those 15 years by shifting to a lower-carbon generation portfolio.
Click on the image at right to see how TVA's fuel mix has changed between fiscal year 2005 and fiscal year 2020.
The report noted that TVA has retired or announced the retirements of about 8,600 MW of coal-fired generation, and is evaluating the impact of retiring the balance of its coal fleet by 2035. That retired generation has been replaced by adding nuclear, solar and gas-fired generation as well as modifying its hydroelectric power stations. The next coal-fired plant TVA will retire is the Bull Run Power Station, scheduled to be retired by December 2023. That 868-MW facility, located in Clinton, Tennessee, began generating electricity in 1967.
After the Bull Run station is retired, TVA will still have about 6,000 MW of coal-fired generation that will be approaching the end of its cost effectiveness. Though the Strategic Intent report did not specify which plants would be retired by what date, it strongly suggested that the retirements would be made sooner rather than later. Those remaining coal-fired power plants are: the Shawnee plant, in Kentucky, and the Cumberland, Gallatin and Kingston plants in Tennessee.
In its "aspirational" pursuit of a net-zero carbon future by 2050, the agency said it expects to add about 10,000 MW of solar generation by 2035. Nearly one-quarter of that total, 2,300 MW, is scheduled to begin operating by 2023, when the Bull Run station is retired. In addition, TVA and its public power distribution utilities plan to deploy up to 2,000 MW of distributed solar generation.
TVA also is investigating small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), but doesn't expect those to become cost-effective until the mid-2030s, it said in the report. Smaller nuclear reactors in the range of 80 MW or so are one of several technologies, including carbon capture & sequestration (CCS), that need additional direct federal aid in order to become economic sooner. The report indicated that TVA would consider pairing CCS units with gas-fired generation as part of its goal of attaining net-zero emissions by 2050.
In late 2019, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) (Rockville, Maryland) awarded TVA the nation's first Early Site Permit for two or more SMRs at the Clinch River Site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In the current quarter, TVA began to perform a programmatic Environmental Impact Statement to address the potential environmental effects associated with the construction, operation and decommissioning of SMRs.
The SMRs are part of a longer-term TVA capital plan expected to take shape in the years after 2023. In addition to the $2.6 billion in TVA capital projects scheduled to begin construction over the next two years, Industrial Info's Global Marketing Intelligence database is tracking another 40 capital projects valued at about $5 billion that are scheduled to begin construction after 2023.
"By the mid-2030s," the report said, "TVA believes carbon capture technology may be available to be added to gas plants, making them more cost-effective, zero-carbon resources for their full useful life and helping us to meet peak demand spikes with reliable, affordable energy."
"Progress toward net-zero emissions will require continued investment in new technologies in addition to nuclear, solar, wind and hydro," the report continued. "We see gas as a bridging strategy--a way to continue to add renewables and support the needs of the system while new technologies are developed."
Energy storage capability is "essential for integrating solar power into the TVA system," the Strategic Intent report said, adding that the agency has contracted for about 180 MW of utility-scale battery energy storage projects to date. It added, "we are piloting broader efforts to create utility-scale energy storage."
TVA has transformed its generation portfolio without busting the bank. Despite spending billions of dollars to transform its generation portfolio since 2005, its wholesale electric prices are lower today than they were a decade ago, the report said. A lot of that is due to natural gas costs being so low for so long.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.
Industrial Info is tracking 33 TVA capital projects valued at $2.6 billion that are scheduled to kick off over the next two years. Those projects include a steam generator replacement at the Watts Bar Nuclear Power Station, adding a total of 600 megawatts (MW) of gas-fired generation at the Paradise and Colbert power stations, modernizing several hydroelectric plants, constructing new solar generation and remediating coal ash ponds at several sites.
The report, TVA Strategic Intent and Guiding Principles, details how the agency has lowered its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by nearly two-thirds since fiscal year 2005, to 42.5 million tons in fiscal year 2020 from 116 million tons in fiscal year 2005, while transforming its fuel mix over the same time from 57% coal to 57% carbon-free resources. The agency saved about $1 billion in fuel and purchased power costs over those 15 years by shifting to a lower-carbon generation portfolio.
Click on the image at right to see how TVA's fuel mix has changed between fiscal year 2005 and fiscal year 2020. The report noted that TVA has retired or announced the retirements of about 8,600 MW of coal-fired generation, and is evaluating the impact of retiring the balance of its coal fleet by 2035. That retired generation has been replaced by adding nuclear, solar and gas-fired generation as well as modifying its hydroelectric power stations. The next coal-fired plant TVA will retire is the Bull Run Power Station, scheduled to be retired by December 2023. That 868-MW facility, located in Clinton, Tennessee, began generating electricity in 1967.
After the Bull Run station is retired, TVA will still have about 6,000 MW of coal-fired generation that will be approaching the end of its cost effectiveness. Though the Strategic Intent report did not specify which plants would be retired by what date, it strongly suggested that the retirements would be made sooner rather than later. Those remaining coal-fired power plants are: the Shawnee plant, in Kentucky, and the Cumberland, Gallatin and Kingston plants in Tennessee.
In its "aspirational" pursuit of a net-zero carbon future by 2050, the agency said it expects to add about 10,000 MW of solar generation by 2035. Nearly one-quarter of that total, 2,300 MW, is scheduled to begin operating by 2023, when the Bull Run station is retired. In addition, TVA and its public power distribution utilities plan to deploy up to 2,000 MW of distributed solar generation.
TVA also is investigating small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), but doesn't expect those to become cost-effective until the mid-2030s, it said in the report. Smaller nuclear reactors in the range of 80 MW or so are one of several technologies, including carbon capture & sequestration (CCS), that need additional direct federal aid in order to become economic sooner. The report indicated that TVA would consider pairing CCS units with gas-fired generation as part of its goal of attaining net-zero emissions by 2050.
In late 2019, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) (Rockville, Maryland) awarded TVA the nation's first Early Site Permit for two or more SMRs at the Clinch River Site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In the current quarter, TVA began to perform a programmatic Environmental Impact Statement to address the potential environmental effects associated with the construction, operation and decommissioning of SMRs.
The SMRs are part of a longer-term TVA capital plan expected to take shape in the years after 2023. In addition to the $2.6 billion in TVA capital projects scheduled to begin construction over the next two years, Industrial Info's Global Marketing Intelligence database is tracking another 40 capital projects valued at about $5 billion that are scheduled to begin construction after 2023.
"By the mid-2030s," the report said, "TVA believes carbon capture technology may be available to be added to gas plants, making them more cost-effective, zero-carbon resources for their full useful life and helping us to meet peak demand spikes with reliable, affordable energy."
"Progress toward net-zero emissions will require continued investment in new technologies in addition to nuclear, solar, wind and hydro," the report continued. "We see gas as a bridging strategy--a way to continue to add renewables and support the needs of the system while new technologies are developed."
Energy storage capability is "essential for integrating solar power into the TVA system," the Strategic Intent report said, adding that the agency has contracted for about 180 MW of utility-scale battery energy storage projects to date. It added, "we are piloting broader efforts to create utility-scale energy storage."
TVA has transformed its generation portfolio without busting the bank. Despite spending billions of dollars to transform its generation portfolio since 2005, its wholesale electric prices are lower today than they were a decade ago, the report said. A lot of that is due to natural gas costs being so low for so long.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.
