Cheatham County Generation Site EIS Scoping Report
current generating capacity that is being replaced. The addition of the proposed 400 MW-hour BESS would also help TVA maintain grid stability and reliability as generating assets with greater minute-by- minute variability are integrated into TVA’s transmission system (e.g., wind and solar generating assets). The proposed CHG project also facilitates the carbon reductions 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 an aspiration to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, based on a 2005 baseline. 3 Alternatives This section describes the alternatives TVA intends to evaluate in the EIS. This section also discusses the alternatives that TVA considered but dismissed from detailed analysis because they did not meet the Purpose and Need of TVA’s proposed action or were otherwise not reasonable or feasible. Whether these or other alternatives are reasonable and warranting of further consideration under NEPA would be determined in the course of preparing the EIS. Related actions, such as the construction of an approximately 8-mile natural gas pipeline lateral and off-site transmission lines, will also be assessed in this EIS. 3.1 No Action Alternative Under the No Action Alternative, TVA would not develop the TVA-owned property in Cheatham County for energy generation. TVA would continue to manage this property, allowing a local farmer to use the land and allowing the farmer to manage the tillable acreage on the property until TVA ends the Grasslands and Agricultural Lands Management (GALM) license. Existing conditions (land use, natural resources, visual resources, physical resources, and socioeconomics) on the CHG Site, and in the vicinity, would remain unchanged. 3.2 Action Alternative Under Action Alternative, TVA would construct and operate an approximately 900 MW CT plant interconnected with an approximately 400 MW-hour BESS on the 286-acre Cheatham County parcel. This development includes planting vegetation along Sycamore Creek to create a pollinator habtat to attract pollinator species. The proposed action includes the construction and operation of a natural gas pipeline lateral and off-site transmission lines. The approximately 8-mile, 30-inch diameter natural gas pipeline lateral would connect the proposed plant to an existing interstate natural gas pipeline. The construction and operation of the natural gas pipeline is subject to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) jurisdiction and additional review will be undertaken by FERC in accordance with its own NEPA procedures. Natural gas-fired simple cycle (CT) plants have the ability to start and ramp quickly on short notice as well as the ability to provide grid support and follow load. Simple cycle CT plants are composed of multiple natural gas-fired CT generating units. CTs are fully dispatchable year-round with the ability to meet capacity needs during short periods. CTs typically have low installed capital cost per MW and offer flexibility to assist in the integration of renewable resources, which is increasingly important as TVA continues its targeted efforts to integrate up to 10,000 MW of solar by 2035.
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