Sierra Club’s Ad Weighs In On Tennessee Coal Plant’s Future

Print ads will appear in the Knoxville News Sentinel and the Memphis Commercial Appeal.  Credit: The Sierra Club

A national environmental group is running a campaign to try to influence the Tennessee Valley Authority.  The Sierra Club wants TVA to consider other options to replace a coal plant in Memphis.

The Allen Fossil Plant burns over 7 thousand tons of coals each day.   TVA needs to either upgrade Allen or replace it by the end of 2018.  The agency is eying a switch to natural gas, but the sixty-second ad from Sierra Club questions that move.

“TVA wants to replace Allen with a major new gas plant. Trading one costly fossil fuel for another is the wrong choice for our health and our energy future. Instead, TVA should replace Allen with clean energy technology.”

A TVA spokesperson says that solar and wind energy are not a feasible replacement for the plant, which supplies energy to 340,000 households.

The Sierra Club is buying online advertising across the state, but is targeting certain cities with newspaper and radio spots. Spokesman Sean Sarah says broadcast spots will run in the East and West, but not Middle Tennessee.

“Its because Memphis is where the Allen Plant is located, and Knoxville is where TVA’s main headquarters is.   And so we really wanted to get at the decision makers, where they were.”                                                                         

TVA is asking for comments from the public, which can be left on their website until August 8.  So far over 50 comments have been received.  TVA’s final decision should come at a board meeting in late August.