Tennessee Valley Authority
TVA Seeks Public Comments on Environmental Review of Kansas Wind Site
October 15, 2010
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Valley Authority is seeking public comments on its draft Environmental Assessment of a wind power purchase agreement with the proposed Caney River Wind Project LLC in Elk County, Kan.
TVA contracted with the Kansas project to buy up to 201 megawatts of wind power for a 20-year period. The project would consist of 111 wind turbines on about 14,000 acres of land. Generation is expected to begin in 2012.
The purchase is contingent upon completion of a review of the potential environmental impacts of the construction and operation of the project.
“TVA is working to achieve its vision to be one of the nation’s leading contributors of low-cost, cleaner energy,” Anda Ray, senior vice president of Environment and Technology, said. “Increasing our wind portfolio, among other actions TVA is taking, will help us continue to move in that direction.”
Comments may be submitted directly or more information obtained at the TVA website www.tva.com/environment/reports. Comments also can be mailed to: Tennessee Valley Authority (Attn: Bruce Yeager), 400 West Summit Hill Drive, WT 11-D, Knoxville, Tenn. 37902-1499; e-mail: blyeager@tva.gov; or fax: (865) 632-3451, through Nov. 11, 2010. TVA will consider these comments in finalizing the environmental assessment and making its decision.
With this project, TVA will have added up to 1,581 megawatts of wind power resources to its generation portfolio since issuing a request for proposals in December 2008 for as much as 2,000 megawatts of renewable energy.
TVA’s current renewable energy mix totals 4,443 megawatts from hydroelectric, wind, solar and methane sources. In addition, TVA’s nuclear plants contribute 6,900 megawatts of emission-free electricity to the power grid.
The Tennessee Valley Authority, a corporation owned by the U.S. government, provides electricity for utility and business customers in most of Tennessee and parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia – an area of 80,000 square miles with a population of 9 million. TVA operates 29 hydroelectric dams, 11 coal-fired power plants, three nuclear plants and 11 natural gas-fired power facilities and supplies up to 36,000 megawatts of electricity, delivered over 16,000 miles of high-voltage power lines. TVA also provides flood control, navigation, land management and recreation for the Tennessee River system and works with local utilities and state and local governments to promote economic development across the region. TVA, which makes no profits and receives no taxpayer money, is funded by sales of electricity to its customers. Electricity prices in TVA’s service territory are below the national average.
Media Contact
Jim Allen, Knoxville, (865) 632-7453
Media Relations, Knoxville (865) 632-6000