Cheatham County Generation Site EIS Scoping Report Executive Summary
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) on the proposed construction and operation of a simple cycle combustion turbine (CT) plant and battery energy storage system (BESS) on a parcel of TVA-owned land in Cheatham County, Tennessee. The Cheatham County Generation Site (CHG) would generate approximately 900 Megawatts (MW) and would replace generation capacity for a substantial portion of the Cumberland Fossil Plant’s second unit retirement planned by the end of 2028. The CHG CTs would be composed of multiple natural gas-fired frame CTs and dual-fuel fired (i.e., capable of firing either natural gas or fuel oil) Aeroderivative CTs. The addition of the proposed 400 MW-hour BESS would help TVA maintain grid stability and reliability. CHG would provide flexible, firm, and dispatchable transmission grid support and facilitate the integration of renewable generation onto the TVA bulk transmission system. Additionally, the proposed CHG generation capacity is located in proximity to support and stabilize the Middle Tennessee load growth. The proposed CHG project would also facilitate the carbon reductions as outlined in TVA’s Strategic Intent and Guiding Principle s (2021) document: 70 percent carbon reductions by 2030, a path to approximately 80 percent carbon reductions by 2035, and aspiration to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, based on a 2005 baseline. In June 2019, TVA published the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which was developed with input from stakeholder groups and the general public. The 2019 IRP evaluated six scenarios (plausible futures) and five strategies (potential TVA responses to those futures) and identified a range of potential resource additions and retirements throughout the TVA power service area, which encompasses approximately 80,000 square miles covering most of Tennessee and parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Virginia. The target power supply mix adopted by the TVA Board through the 2019 IRP included the potential retirement of 2,200 MW s of coal-fired generation by 2038. After considering various alternatives, TVA proposes to evaluate the No Action Alternative and an Action Alternative. The No Action alternative provides a baseline for comparing impacts against the Action Alternative. Under the No Action Alternative, TVA would not construct and operate the CTs and BESS on the TVA-owned property in Cheatham County. Under the Action Alternative, TVA would construct and operate the CTs and BESS. The CHG CTs would be composed of 4 natural gas-fired frame CTs and 10 natural gas-fired and oil-fired (i.e., dual-fuel) Aeroderivative (Aero) CTs. To maintain adequate reserves on the TVA system, this approximately 900 MW replacement generation would need to be in commercial operation prior to the retirement of the second CUF unit, or by the end of 2028. Other components of the Action Alternative include the construction and operation of an approximately 8-mile natural gas pipeline lateral and construction and modifications to onsite and off-site transmission lines and substations. NEPA requires federal agencies to consider the potential environmental consequences of proposed actions. The NEPA review process is intended to help federal agencies make decisions based on an understanding of impacts of the proposed action and alternatives, and, if necessary, to take steps that protect, restore, and enhance the environment. NEPA also requires that federal agencies provide opportunities for public involvement in decision making. One of those opportunities is through the public scoping process. TVA initiated a 30-day public scoping period beginning on May 19, 2023, when it published a Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register announcing its plan to prepare an EIS to study the potential
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