Notice2023-22517
Allen Aeroderivative Generation Project
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
October 12, 2023
Issuing agencies
Tennessee Valley Authority
Abstract
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) intends to prepare an environmental assessment (EA) or environmental impact statement (EIS) to address the potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed installation and operation of six new aeroderivative combustion turbine (CT) units at the Allen Combustion Turbine (ACT) site, located in Shelby County, Tennessee, southwest of the City of Memphis. The new aeroderivative units would generate approximately 200 Megawatts (MW) of power to help meet the growing system demand. The units would provide flexible and dispatchable transmission grid support and facilitate the integration of renewable generation onto the TVA bulk transmission system, consistent with TVA's 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). TVA is inviting public comment concerning the scope of the review, alternatives being considered, and environmental issues that should be addressed.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 196 (Thursday, October 12, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 196 (Thursday, October 12, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70693-70694]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-22517]
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TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
Allen Aeroderivative Generation Project
AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
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SUMMARY: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) intends to prepare an
environmental assessment (EA) or environmental impact statement (EIS)
to address the potential environmental impacts associated with the
proposed installation and operation of six new aeroderivative
combustion turbine (CT) units at the Allen Combustion Turbine (ACT)
site, located in Shelby County, Tennessee, southwest of the City of
Memphis. The new aeroderivative units would generate approximately 200
Megawatts (MW) of power to help meet the growing system demand. The
units would provide flexible and dispatchable transmission grid support
and facilitate the integration of renewable generation onto the TVA
bulk transmission system, consistent with TVA's 2019 Integrated
Resource Plan (IRP). TVA is inviting public comment concerning the
scope of the review, alternatives being considered, and environmental
issues that should be addressed.
DATES: The public scoping period begins with the publication of this
Notice of Intent in the Federal Register. To ensure consideration,
comments must be postmarked, submitted online, or emailed no later than
November 13, 2023. To facilitate the scoping process, TVA will hold an
in-person public open house meeting; see <a href="https://www.tva.gov/NEPA">https://www.tva.gov/NEPA</a> for
more information on the meeting.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted by email to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#125c574253526664733c757d64"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b0fef5e0f1f0c4c6d19ed7dfc6">[email protected]</span></a> or online at <a href="https://www.tva.gov/NEPA">https://www.tva.gov/NEPA</a>. Comments may also
be mailed to Matthew Higdon, NEPA Specialist, 400 West Summit Hill
Drive #WT11B, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Higdon by email to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection" class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cda3a8bdac8db9bbace3aaa2bb">[email protected]</a>, by phone at (865) 632-8051, or by mail at the address
above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is provided in accordance with
the Council on Environmental Quality's Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500
to 1508) and TVA's procedures for implementing the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). TVA is an agency and instrumentality
of the United States, established by an act of Congress in 1933, to
foster the social and economic welfare of the people of the Tennessee
Valley region and to promote the proper use and conservation of the
region's natural resources. One component of this mission is the
generation, transmission, and sale of reliable and affordable electric
energy.
Preliminary Proposed Action and Alternatives
TVA anticipates that the scope of the EA or EIS will evaluate an
Action Alternative and a No Action Alternative. Under the Action
Alternative, TVA would install and operate six new aeroderivative
combustion turbine units generating approximately 200 MW of power at
ACT. TVA would also continue to operate two existing CT units which
would provide an additional 120 MW of power. The new units would
support fast-start dispatching and have synchronous condensing
capabilities to improve grid stability. Four of the units would have
black-start capabilities. Under the proposal, TVA would implement the
best available control technologies to mitigate air emissions.
Construction would occur over a one-year timeframe (approximately)
beginning in 2025 or 2026, with construction activities taking place
within previously disturbed areas at ACT and adjacent properties.
Commercial operations would begin in 2025 or 2026.
Under the No Action Alternative, TVA would not install new
aeroderivative CT units at the ACT, and TVA would retire all existing
units. The No Action alternative provides a baseline for comparing
against the Action Alternative.
Background
In the 2019 IRP, TVA evaluated six scenarios (plausible futures)
and five strategies (potential TVA responses to those plausible
futures) and identified a range of potential resource additions and
retirements throughout the TVA power service area, which encompasses
approximately 80,000 square miles. The target supply mix adopted by the
TVA Board through the 2019 IRP included the addition of up to 5,200 MW
of simple cycle capacity by 2028 to facilitate the integration of solar
onto the TVA bulk power system.
Investments in adding aeroderivative CTs to the peaking fleet
aligns with the direction in the IRP, which recommended enhancing
system flexibility to integrate renewables and distributed resources,
with substantial solar additions over the next two decades. As the
amount of solar generation on the TVA generation portfolio continues to
increase, flexibility of the remainder of the fleet becomes even more
important. For instance, cloud patterns that temporarily block the sun
and reduce solar generation require other generating units to respond
to continue to reliably supply power to customers. Aeroderivative CTs
are inherently well-suited to provide flexibility, enabling the
remainder of the system to better integrate renewables.
Since the completion of the IRP, TVA has seen a strong increase in
electric demand. Population has increased in the TVA service region by
1.5 percent since 2019. TVA expects continued strong growth in annual
electric demand through the middle of this decade. Forecasted electric
demand is expected to grow more than one percent per year on average
between 2023-2026. Current system modeling shows that with increased
residential migration and commercial development, TVA must add capacity
to the system to maintain adequate operating reserves.
In 2019, TVA also completed a CT Modernization Study to evaluate
the condition of its existing CT units and form recommendations for
investments to ensure a reliable and flexible peaking fleet into the
future. The results of the study identified the ACT units as the ``most
challenged'' based on their age and material condition and recommended
that they be replaced. The CT Modernization Study also recommended
adding new aeroderivative CTs to enhance system flexibility, integrate
increasing renewable capacity, and provide dispatchable capacity. The
proposed action would also be consistent with the findings and
recommendations of this study.
In June 2021, TVA issued an environmental assessment (EA)
addressing the retirement of the CT units at Allen. At that time, TVA
issued the Paradise and Colbert Combustion Turbine EA and an associated
finding of no significant impact, in which TVA
[[Page 70694]]
addressed the retirement of all 20 CT units at its Allen and
Johnsonville plants and the replacement of the capacity lost with new
CT units at its Paradise and Colbert plants. Under the current
proposal, TVA is considering the continual operation of existing Units
19 and 20 at ACT, previously identified for retirement.
In December 2022, during Winter Storm Elliott, 16 of the units at
ACT failed to start, impacting the TVA system position by 240 MWs.
Since this event, these 16 units at Allen have ceased operations. Only
two units at ACT (Units 19 and 20) are operable.
Project Purpose and Need
The purpose of the proposed action is to increase the flexibility
and reliability of TVA power system by improving TVA's transmission
system stability in western Tennessee and providing new, dispatchable
generation to support the continued system load growth experienced in
the TVA power service area over the past few years. These improvements
would help TVA to expand and integrate renewable energy resources onto
its transmission grid, which would allow TVA to advance its
decarbonization goals.
TVA has identified the need to improve the stability of its
transmission system in the western portion of Tennessee. In this area,
additional resources are needed to ensure that adequate transmission
voltages are maintained within the desired limits. In addition, as
identified in the 2019 IRP, TVA needs flexible, dispatchable power that
can successfully integrate increasing amounts of renewable energy
sources while ensuring it can meet required year-round generation and
maximum capacity system demands and planning reserve margin targets.
Anticipated Environmental Impacts
The EA or EIS will include an evaluation of the environmental,
social, and economic impacts associated with implementing the proposed
action. Because all ground disturbing activities associated with the
proposal would occur within previously disturbed areas of TVA's Allen
facility, TVA anticipates that the primary issues to be addressed in
the EA or EIS will be impacts to air quality, climate change,
environmental justice, and transportation. Other resource issues,
including socioeconomics and surface water quality, will be addressed.
Measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate adverse effects will be
identified and evaluated in the EA or EIS. TVA seeks input from the
public during the scoping period on other relevant issues that should
be considered and potential mitigation measures.
Anticipated Permits and Other Authorizations
TVA anticipates seeking required permits or authorizations, as
appropriate. TVA's proposed action may require issuance of an air
permit under the Clean Air Act; an Individual or Nationwide Permit
under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act; Section 401 Water Quality
Certification; conformance with Executive Orders on Environmental
Justice (12898), Wetlands (11990), Floodplain Management (11988),
Migratory Birds (13186), and Invasive Species (13112); and compliance
with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, Section 7
of the Endangered Species Act, and other applicable Local, Federal, and
State regulations.
Public Participation and Scoping Process
Scoping, which is integral to the process for implementing NEPA,
provides an early and open process to ensure that issues are identified
early and properly studied; issues of little significance do not
consume substantial time and effort; the draft EA or EIS is thorough
and balanced; and delays caused by an inadequate EA or EIS are avoided.
TVA seeks comment and participation from all interested parties for
identification of potential alternatives, information, and analyses
relevant to the proposed action in this EA or EIS. Public comments
received during the scoping period will assist TVA in determining the
appropriate level of NEPA review.
Information about this project is available at <a href="https://www.tva.gov/NEPA">https://www.tva.gov/NEPA</a>, which includes a link to an online public comment page. Comments
must be received or postmarked no later than November 13, 2023.
Federal, state, local agencies, and Native American Tribes are also
invited to provide comments. Please note that any comments received,
including names and addresses, will become part of the project
administrative record and will be available for public inspection. TVA
plans to have an open house meeting during the scoping period. Visit
<a href="https://www.tva.gov/NEPA">https://www.tva.gov/NEPA</a> to submit comments and obtain more information
about the open house meeting.
EA or EIS Preparation and Schedule
TVA will consider comments received during the scoping period and
develop a scoping report which will be published online. The scoping
report will summarize public and agency comments that were received and
identify the projected schedule for completing the environmental review
process. TVA will post a draft EA or EIS for public review and comment
on the project web page. TVA anticipates holding a public open house
after releasing the draft EA or EIS. TVA expects to release the draft
EA or EIS in Spring or Summer 2024 and a final EA or EIS in late 2024.
If an EIS is prepared, TVA would publish a Record of Decision at least
30 days after the release of the final EIS.
Authority: 40 CFR 1501.9.
Rebecca Tolene,
Vice President, Environment and Sustainability.
[FR Doc. 2023-22517 Filed 10-11-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8120-08-P
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