Take action to push TVA towards a cheaper, cleaner, faster energy solution!

Sierra Club members and supporters comment to the TVA's Board of Directors on TVA’s 2026 IRP

Dear Tennessee Valley Authority, We are sending you this letter to ask that you consider our comments on TVA's 2026 IRP and encourage TVA to take additional public input on the significant changes in its resource planning. The lack of a public input process around the 2026 IRP fails to meet the objective of extensive, meaningful involvement of stakeholders and the public. TVA has always allowed 30 days between final environmental impact statements (EIS) on its IRPs and a final decision. Even when the final IRP was similar to the preceding draft IRP, previous practice by TVA to comply with NEPA meant leaving a 30-day window between the final EIS and the formal decision. We deserve to have the opportunity to give input on an IRP that will impact our communities for years to come. Renewable energy projects, like solar combined with battery storage, are the cheapest, cleanest, and fastest way to meet our region's demand for more electricity. TVA's IRP modeling caps the amount of solar and storage that can be added in any given year at an artificially low level, meaning that the model cannot select as much clean energy as would be optimal. Nor does it allow that cap to grow with time, as it should. TVA should be getting better at adding clean resources as time goes on, not stagnating. In addition, compared to the 2024 IRP, the 2026 IRP forecasts significantly higher demand growth and higher costs for many generation sources, particularly battery storage. Industry estimates suggest that the modeled prices for gas plants are too low, and the modeled price for battery storage is much too high. All of this means that TVA's modeling will recommend more fossil and less clean energy than would be best for the Valley. And the model isn't allowed to select the best and most economic coal retirement dates, meaning that the coal plant extensions at Kingston and Cumberland are "baked in" to the IRP instead of going by what a true least cost assessment would pick. We urge TVA to finalize an IRP that is in the best interest of the people of the Valley. TVA has the power to choose a clean energy strategy, one that realizes the benefits clean energy offers to the Valley: a focus on clean energy like solar and storage, and less on dirty fossil generation. We know that renewables are cheaper and easily scalable, and thus a clean-focused strategy lowers costs, offers the greatest amount of carbon reduction, and involves existing, off-the-shelf technologies (such as solar and batteries). It also best positions TVA to take advantage of newer storage technologies, like long-duration storage, and to invest in more energy efficiency and distributed generation. TVA must listen to the voices of the community, particularly those most impacted by these decisions. We all deserve an energy plan that supports economic stability and a commitment from TVA to engage with our community and prioritize clean energy solutions in the upcoming IRP. Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.