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TVA to establish advisory panel on coal ash cleanup, approves resource plan

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TVA to establish advisory panel on coal ash cleanup, approves resource plan

SNL ImageTennessee Valley Authority CEO Jeff Lyash speaks at a board meeting Aug. 22, 2019.
Source: Tennessee Valley Authority

The Tennessee Valley Authority is establishing an independent panel of experts to advise the utility on the best ways to pursue coal ash cleanup.

The power authority, known as the TVA, is seeking potential members for the group who can provide feedback to President and CEO Jeff Lyash and the TVA's board of directors regarding potential options for removing or storing coal combustion residuals at the utility's coal-fired power plants, Lyash said Aug. 22. The advisory panel will help ensure TVA management has a range of industry expertise available.

The panel is the brainchild of Vice President of Enterprise Relations and Innovation Joe Hoagland, who Lyash announced at the TVA's May 9 board meeting would coordinate with the federal power provider's business units and other industry players on coal ash.

"This is one of the bigger cost risks and environmental risks to TVA in the future," Lyash said during a media briefing following the TVA's board meeting. "We want to make sure that we're taking a responsible approach, that we're striking the right balance, that we're letting the science lead us to where we need to go. And once that's clear, that we are taking an appropriately aggressive approach to stepping through to find a better resolution."

Like its peers in the electric utility sector, the TVA faces the challenge of shuttering uneconomic coal plants and cleaning up remaining coal ash. But the pressure is on the TVA, which made headlines in 2008 when the Kingston coal plant spilled 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash and 327 million gallons of water. The environmental disaster looms large for the federal power provider as it considers pond closures at shuttered plants and dismantling options for coal units that will soon close.

Lyash said he expects that the advisory board will be in placed within the next six months. As the utility searches for experts to join the group, Lyash said the TVA will be focused on finding people with "the right mix of skills" in various sectors such as environmental science and engineering.

Board approves resource plan, budget

During the board meeting, the TVA also approved the final version of its 20-year integrated resource plan and its fiscal year 2020 budget. The final resource plan includes a range of power generation portfolio options for the company to pursue in its service region.

Under the plan, the TVA will retire the last unit at the Paradise coal plant in Muhlenberg County, Ky., and the Bull Run coal plant in Anderson County, Tenn., and called for evaluating the potential to retire an additional 2,200 MW of coal capacity if cost-effective. The utility will also increase solar capacity by between 1,500 MW and 8,000 MW by 2028 and by up to 14,000 MW by 2038.

The TVA 2020 budget is $10.59 billion, which it said will allow it to keep rates stable through 2030 and emphasizes the utility's strategic focus on reducing debt and making grid investments.