The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) hosted a public webinar on June 5 to discuss updates on the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) and accompanying Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Both the IRP and EIS are being finalized and should be released June 28.
During the webinar, TVA provided an overview of comments received during the public comment period, highlights of additional computer modeling completed in response to public comments and a review of next steps to finalize the IRP recommendation. There was also a short Q&A session.
TVA released its draft 2019 IRP on Feb. 15, 2019, which initiated the public review period that concluded April 8. In April, TAEBC submitted comments to TVA.
In the webinar, TVA announced it received public comments on a variety of topics ranging from energy resource options to environmental impacts. Some of these comments include:
- Support for distributed energy generation, demand reduction and increasing storage capability
- Desire for increased and earlier adoption of renewable energy
- Concern over small amount of energy efficiency in portfolios
The public comments helped inform TVA’s sensitivity analysis and are considered in the development of the IRP Recommendation. TVA also revised the EIS to address substantive comments on environmental analysis. The public comments and responses will be appended to the Final IRP/EIS.
The webinar also revealed next steps regarding the 2019 IRP:
- TVA will host a Regional Energy Resource Council Meeting covering the 2019 IRP from June 26-27 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
- A public listening session will be held June 26, where the public is invited to share comments as the Energy Resource Council forms their recommendations.
TVA intends to request approval of the IRP Recommendation from the Board in August 2019. Once approved, a Record of Decision will be published.
To learn more about TVA’s 2019 IRP website and to view the published webinar, follow this link.