Written by John Egan for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)
Summary
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is taking steps to postpone the planned retirement dates of about 3,900 megawatts of generation from two coal-fired power plants. Many electric utilities across the U.S. have delayed the retirement of generators that burn coal.
TVA Plans to Keep Two Coal Plants Open
The Board of Directors for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) voted February 11 to take the steps necessary to postpone the planned retirement dates of the Cumberland Fossil Plant and Kingston Fossil Plant, two large coal-fired power plants with a combined generation capacity of about 3,868 megawatts (MW).
The two-unit Cumberland station, located in Stewart County, Tennessee, has approximately 2,470 MW of generating capacity. That plant began generating electricity in 1968. Prior to the board’s action, one Cumberland unit was scheduled to retire at the end of 2026 while the other had a yearend 2028 retirement date, TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks told Industrial Info. The nine-unit Kingston station, located in Kingston, Tennessee, has total generating capacity of about 1,398 MW. It began generating electricity in 1954. It had been slated to stop operating by the end of 2027.
TVA did not set new retirement dates for the Cumberland and Kingston stations. Instead, it said it was “taking steps” to keep the plants operating beyond their previously set retirement dates…