The Tennessee Valley Authority was once moving toward retiring its aging coal power plant fleet. Now one of its largest plants is set to keep burning coal even as a new gas plant comes online next door, and environmental advocates say the decision may violate federal law, as WPLN reported.
What happened?
TVA had previously said Cumberland would fully retire by 2028. But the Southern Environmental Law Center announced that it plans to sue after the utility decided to keep the Cumberland Fossil Plant running while a nearby gas facility starts operating.
SELC attorney Delaney King said the updated plan is unlawful.
"Running the Cumberland coal plant alongside its new gas plant is more than a broken promise to the millions of people who rely on TVA for power," King said in a press release. "It caused the federal utility to violate federal law while putting communities in Middle Tennessee at risk in the process."
Together, the two plants are projected to release 1,500 tons of fine particulate matter each year, along with 4,700 tons of nitrogen oxides and 8,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, the release said.
WPLN noted that TVA had once planned to retire its last four coal plants by 2035, but said earlier this year that those plants could remain online until 2039.
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Why does it matter?
Cumberland is already one of the region's largest climate polluters, and WPLN reported that TVA's remaining coal plants are still among the biggest polluters in Tennessee and Kentucky. Those plants are also linked to hundreds of premature deaths each year.
Coal and natural gas plants can harm nearby communities by releasing air and water pollution linked to asthma, heart disease, cancer, respiratory illness, and premature death.
TVA itself has previously warned that its coal fleet was nearing the end of its useful life and was vulnerable to outages. That's something many residents experienced during Winter Storm Elliott, when plant failures contributed to rolling blackouts, WPLN pointed out.
Keeping those units running longer could increase pollution and drive up maintenance costs.
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What's being done?
SELC's legal challenge is one response. The group says TVA may spend about $730 million just to keep Cumberland operating, with roughly $115 million in federal funding helping to support that effort, as WPLN reported.
TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks said the utility "remains committed to serving the Valley with energy that is reliable, affordable and resilient, now and for the future" in a statement to the outlet.
Still, as WPLN suggested, the change in plans seems to be motivated by the Trump administration's bid to keep the coal industry afloat. Federal funding and pressure could be the driver behind the decision.
As it stands, SELC isn't planning to let the TVA off the hook.
"If TVA doesn't fix its Clean Air Act violations, we'll take them to court," King insisted in the press release.
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