NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is at odds with some climate activists and community members over its plan to power the Tennessee Valley for the next 25 years after the TVA released its Integrated Resource Plan Monday.
Environmentalists say the proposal relies too much on gas expansion and fossil fuels.
Scott Brooks, a spokesman for TVA, said the IRP is more of a “compass” than a roadmap, telling News 2, “It’s meant to give us a general direction, not to be specific about whether it’s gas versus coal versus nuclear versus renewable energy, all of which by the way, we’re going to have in the mix for quite some time. So really, what the IRP is intended to do is give us a general direction that we should be headed and making sure that we can supply the power that’s necessary over the next couple of decades.”
TVA sues Cheatham County landowners as push to build new methane gas plant moves forward
Still, around 100 climate activists and community members gathered Saturday at Centennial Park to demonstrate their opposition to the IRP and TVA’s energy policies, saying if the plan moves forward it would bring more extreme weather events, cause more air and water pollution and increase utility bills for customers in the Tennessee Valley.