| Our Sources Say |
Wilson Dam, on the Tennessee River in northwest Alabama, was finished in 1924, is 137 feet high and stretches 4,541 feet across the river. It is the largest conventional hydroelectric facility in the TVA system. Wilson Reservoir provides 166 miles of shoreline and 15,500 acres of water surface for recreation.
TVA looking to future with IRP
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labama is a great place to live and work, and TVA is proud to be a part of the lives of the people living in the Tennessee Valley by providing electricity, managing the river and recreational areas, and supporting economic development activities. Providing electricity to the Valley is a key element of the TVA mission to serve the Valley, and it’s important that TVA delivers power reliably now while also looking at the needs of the future. To help TVA understand the changing needs and prepare to best meet future electricity demand, we’ve begun updating our Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). The IRP will inform the company’s next long-term financial plan and proactively address the changing utility marketplace. To ensure TVA best meets projected future needs, TVA will continue its tradition of innovation in the IRP. The 2011 IRP focused on diversifying and modernizing TVA’s generation portfolio, part of which included adding cost-effective renewables. The 2015 IRP identified distributed energy resources (DER) as a growing trend in the utility industry and designed a mechanism where energy efficiency could be chosen as a resource. The 2019 IRP will consider many views of the future, with
Kevin Chandler is general manager, Alabama District Customer Service, for the Tennessee Valley Authority.
52 MAY 2018
input from the public, customers, environmental groups and other stakeholders, to determine how TVA can continue to provide low-cost, reliable electricity; support environmental stewardship; and spur economic development in the Valley over the next 20 years. The 2019 IRP will: Explore various distributed energy scenarios, considering the speed and amount of DER penetration. Improve TVA’s understanding of the impact and benefit of system flexibility with increasing renewable and distributed resources. Determine the implications to TVA’s diverse portfolio mix for the next 20 years. A public comment period on the IRP was held mid-February through mid-April. Those comments have been collected and will be considered as TVA continues the process of gathering and analyzing information. TVA will hold quarterly webinars to update the public on the process and share insights as the final plan is being developed, with the second public webinar scheduled for May. For a recording of the first webinar and more information about the IRP, visit the TVA website at www.tva.com. Speaking of the website, spring is here and www.tva.com is full of information and recommendations for outdoor activities in the Valley. Visit the site to get more information about TVA-managed campgrounds, which opened March 15, and find great spots for fishing, biking and hiking. www.alabamaliving.coop