The Tennessee Valley Authority is pursuing a 100-megawatt solar generation pilot project on a closed coal ash site at the Shawnee Fossil Plant near Paducah, Kentucky.
TVA “is leading the industry in safely and securely closing a coal ash site and reusing it to advance decarbonization goals and preserve farmland and greenfield space,” it said.
Utilizing a portion of the nearly 309-acre area where coal combustion residuals are being closed and managed in place, the proposed project would facilitate the repurposing of an industrial brownfield site to produce up to 100 MW of renewable energy.
TVA is seeking comments on its draft environmental assessment for the proposed solar power generating facility in McCracken County, Kentucky.
The proposed solar development would occupy approximately 186-acres of the 340-acre Project Area.
Given its location on a TVA coal plant site, the solar facility would be proximately located to existing transmission lines.
The proposed project would require associated infrastructure to interconnect to TVA’s transmission lines and a proposed Battery Energy Storage System.
The solar facility’s design would utilize the central inverters, transformers, substation, switching station, operations and maintenance buildings, and access roads associated with the current Shawnee facility operations.
TVA is inviting the public to provide input from October 6–November 6, 2023 on the draft Environmental Assessment.
TVA’s 2019 Integrated Resource Plan identified various resources that TVA intends to use to meet the energy needs of the TVA region over the 20-year planning period while achieving TVA’s objectives to deliver reliable, low-cost, and cleaner energy and while reducing environmental impacts.
The IRP anticipates growth of solar in all scenarios analyzed, with most scenarios anticipating 5,000-8,000 MW and one anticipating up to 14,000 MW.
