TVA Gas Plant Review Meets EPA Criticism on Emissions, Costs (1)

The Biden administration wants the Tennessee Valley Authority to reevaluate preferred plans to build a natural gas-fired power plant to replace an aging coal facility scheduled to close by 2027, finding deficiencies in the federally owned utility’s environmental review.

In a letter this week, the US Environmental Protection Agency requested TVA prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement that addresses the agency’s “substantial” concerns.

TVA’s environmental impact statement failed to factor in Inflation Reduction Act incentives and national greenhouse gas reduction goals and underestimated emissions, the agency said. TVA dismissed the lower costs, lower financial risks from being less reliant on ...