In the past year, the Tennessee Valley Authority has proposed nearly 4 gigawatts of new fossil fuel generation — or about 10% of the utility’s current electricity capacity. 

TVA approved plans for a large gas turbine at Cumberland in January and proposed gas peaker plants for its notorious Kingston site in May. It just revealed plans to burn more gas on land right outside of Nashville.

On the same day that TVA announced that it was starting a new study of its power system, the authority outlined a plan for a methane gas plant, a 12-mile pipeline and a battery system in Cheatham County, on a site near Ashland City that would generate 900 megawatts of power. 

The “scoping” process is the first public step in TVA’s regulatory timeline to build new a power plant. The federal utility is supposed to consider all its options and gather public feedback before preparing a formal environmental review. 

TVA did not give an alternative for the Cheatham County site.

“That’s what makes it particularly egregious for TVA,” said Daniel Tait, a researcher with the Energy and Policy Institute. 

TVA purchased several hundred acres of land in Cheatham County, about 20 miles from Nashville, for $1.4 million in 2020. At the time, officials told The Tennessean that TVA did not have specific plans for this land. This is the property where TVA is now proposing the new gas facilities. 

To hook up gas requires building new pipelines: a 32-mile pipeline for Cumberland, a 122-mile pipeline for Kingston and a 12-mile pipeline for the Cheatham County project. 

Together, that is more than half the total length of the Mountain Valley Pipeline — a gas pipeline made famous by White House protests and a congressional deal formed by West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin. 

TVA declined to tell WPLN News where the 12-mile pipeline would be built and said those details would be shared during a later step in the environmental review process. 

“We haven’t explored the options yet. We just have the proposed site,” TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks said in an email. 

‘It’s common … for TVA to do what it wants’

Last year, the Tennessee Valley Authority sourced up to 48% of its electricity from fossil fuels. 

Fossil fuels, which include gas, oil and coal, are the main cause of climate change. In the U.S., a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions come from the electricity sector, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. that figure does not include all the methane emissions from leaky gas pipelines and oil and gas wells. 

Caroline Eggers WPLN News

A record-breaking flood toppled trees in Humphreys County, Tenn., on Aug. 21, 2021. Climate change is intensifying heavy rain events.

Global methane levels have been reaching record highs, and a recent report by the United Nations found that leaks from fossil fuel exploration, production and transportation cause about 40% of human-caused methane emissions.

There is a scientific consensus on the need to rapidly end fossil fuel use. In its analysis of TVA’s Cumberland gas project, the EPA questioned the choice of fossil fuels given “the urgency of the climate crisis.” The agency also said that TVA is running long-term financial risks by opting for fossil fuels over clean energy.

“It is common practice for TVA to do what it wants to do and ignore everybody else in the process,” Tait said.

More: Greenwashing delays climate action. And yes, it’s happening in Tennessee.

TVA is holding a public meeting about the proposed Cheatham County site on Wed., June 21, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the David McCullough Community Room, 334 Frey Street, Ashland City.