Tennessee Valley Authority announced plans Dec. 4 to construct a new onsite storage area for coal ash and other coal combustion residuals, adding another 20 years of storage capacity, at the Shawnee Fossil Plant in West Paducah, Ky.
Under the proposed plan, TVA also intends to close the wet impoundment in place by dewatering and installing a cover system to prevent rain from getting into the ash. The plan is in line with the utility's target to reduce its share of power generation from coal to 20% or below by 2020.
Currently, coal ash produced by Shawnee is stored in a special dry landfill and in a wet impoundment that is expected to fill within the next 10 years.
TVA will provide a formal record of decision in 2018.
