Generation plans center on reliability, clean energy

Population growth, economic development and electrification are fueling an unprecedented surge in the demand for power.

“While our entire nation is experiencing this growth, our region is experiencing it much faster,” Jeff Lyash, TVA President and CEO, said.

Few watch this trend more closely than Bryan Williams, whose team handles TVA’s major construction projects.

“It’s a busy time,” Williams, senior vice president of Generation Projects and Fleet Services, said.

“We have seen both residential and industrial loads coming into the Valley. And we foresee even more industry moving into the Valley, largely driven by the reliability of our power as well as the fair price.

“So we need to build – and build quickly – to serve this load.”

At the same time, TVA is retiring its coal plants and older gas plants. In FY 2023, TVA retired Bull Run and made the decision to retire Cumberland Fossil Plant in two stages, with one unit retiring by the end of CY 2026 and the second unit by the end of CY 2028. In FY 2024, TVA announced it would retire Kingston by the end of CY 2027.

It all adds up to opportunities for TVA to create a cleaner energy future.

“We continue to make substantial investments throughout our power system,” Lyash said. “We are planning to invest more than $19 billion through FY 2029 to build new generation, upgrade the existing power system and make transmission system improvements.”

The new plants enable TVA’s central grid managers to fine-tune the entire system.

“The reliability of the fleet will greatly improve as we move through this build period over the next 10 years,” Williams said.

Clean energy is a guiding principle in this growth phase.

TVA’s renewable energy initiatives call for 10,000 megawatts of solar generation while also considering other clean energy projects, including advanced nuclear technology, an additional pumped storage plant and battery storage.

“We’re going to evolve the fleet to be gradually greener,” Williams said. “We’re doing things even today on coal plants to make them cleaner ahead of their retirement.”

As TVA works to accelerate the growth of renewables, it also continues to evaluate adding flexible, lower-carbon-emitting gas plants as a strategy to maintain reliability.

TVA’s dams play a key role, too.

“I see these dams and hydro plants as long-term assets,” Williams said. “So we’re walking through those units and doing life extension projects to make them run for another 40-plus years.”

Roadmap for expansion

TVA’s building plan strikes a balance between adding renewables and ensuring reliable power is always available when needed.

“We’re building a lot of fast-starting generation units so we can very quickly respond to changes in demand, as well as the intermittency of solar resources,” Wiliams said.

TVA refers to these fast-starting units as “dispatchable,” which means they can quickly generate power at the flip of a switch.

“Our winter peak occurs first thing in the morning, around 7 a.m. CT,” Williams said. “And the sun in January in the Valley is not yet out. Solar is not considered dispatchable because I can’t flip a switch and turn it on when I need it. It’s outside my control.”

At Johnsonville Combustion Turbine Plant, crews are installing new aeroderivative gas turbines that can reach full power in 10 minutes.

“They are there to back up renewables during winter mornings and the times when the sun’s not shining,” Williams said.

New Generation

• 3,570 MW – New generating assets under construction
• 1,950 MW – New generation projects pending environmental review

“Power companies, regulators and the public – we're all driving to a cleaner energy portfolio. But we can’t get there overnight. When we do make these investments, we’ve got to find those least-cost, dispatchable energy solutions to continue to serve our growing load.” 

–Bryan Williams, TVA senior vice president of Generation Projects and Fleet Services 

PHOTO AT TOP OF PAGE: A view inside a hydroelectric unit at Fort Loudoun Dam during a Hydro Life Extension project in FY 2024.