Cheatham County Generation Site EIS Scoping Report
2 Purpose and Need TVA’s asset strategy incorporates the strategic direction from the 2019 IRP and continues to support affordable, reliable, and cleaner energy for the customers TVA serves. The proposed CHG project that will be studied as part of this EIS is one piece of the overall asset strategy, which also includes: • Maintaining the existing low-cost, carbon-free nuclear and hydro fleets. • Retiring aging coal units as they reach the end of their useful life, with the entirety of the coal fleet expected to be retired by 2035. • Adding up to 10,000 MW of solar, complemented with storage, by 2035 to meet customer demands and system needs. • Using natural gas to facilitate needed coal retirements and integrate solar expansion as other technologies develop.
• Leveraging demand-side options, in partnership with local power companies. • Partnering to develop new carbon-free technologies for deeper decarbonization.
TVA utilizes least-cost planning in the development of its asset strategy in order to provide electricity at the lowest feasible rate for our customers. The target power supply mix in the 2019 IRP that was adopted by the TVA Board represents least cost planning. 2.1 Project Purpose The purpose of the proposed action is to provide replacement generation in support of retiring coal units, continued load growth in the Tennessee Valley, and to increase the transmission stability of the Middle Tennessee area to support overall decarbonization goals. 2.2 Project Need TVA needs flexible, firm, and dispatchable power that can effectively replace a substantial portion of the generation from the second CUF coal unit to be retired by the end of 2028. Power with such attributes is also necessary to successfully integrate increasing amounts of renewable energy sources while ensuring reliability. As TVA integrates more renewable generation, specifically inverter-based resources (IBR) such as solar, the location of generation becomes increasingly important for maintaining system stability. As IBR penetration increases, support around load centers such as Middle Tennessee is needed to maintain area grid stability. As TVA retires existing resources, special consideration is needed for the location of replacement generation. In higher IBR penetration scenarios, TVA has identified a need for generation on the 161-kV system in the Middle Tennessee area to support area load and reduce the impact of faults on system stability. The proposed CHG project would ensure that TVA can meet required year-round generation while accommodating continued load growth, maximum capacity system demands, and planning reserve margin targets. By constructing and operating a CT with a BESS interconnected to the transmission system at the same location, TVA would continue providing dispatchable and reliable energy to the people of the Tennessee Valley at the lowest system cost with fewer environmental impacts than the
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