HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The Tennessee Valley Authority currently serves more than 1.2 million people in Alabama. By 2050, their goal is to achieve net-zero carbon emissions. They hosted a public information session Tuesday night about their new Integrated Resource Plan.
"We focus on affordable, reliable, resilient, increasingly cleaner power," said Clifton Lowry, TVA Enterprise Planning Vice President.
"The environment is so important to all Alabamians," Huntsville Resident Sam Houston said.
The IRP will be filled with circumstances and goals; some in the next decade, more by 2050.
Lowry said, "We look at 2035 to characterize some of the near-term direction and results, and then you look out to 2050, you still need to understand how the decisions you make today can impact that trajectory."
A big factor in the plan: a growing population.
"People moving to the Valley regulation that might be affecting how supply and demand for electricity plays out," Lowry said.
"When they have a plan to generate more power for our exploding population in Huntsville, we have to make sure they're leaving as little footprint as they can in the environment," Houston said.
Houston said he's been to some of TVA's public input sessions before and felt a positive impact from them.
He said, "Somebody has got to make sure they have the best interests of everyone, including the environment and the people and their corporations."
"We are actively engaging the public to help them understand what we're doing, what we're thinking about, what the implications are for them getting their feedback and getting it early so that the final product is that much more robust," Lowry said.
Drafts of the 2025 IRP are still being made, but they're looking to finalize the plan in the first half of the new year. People can submit their comments until December 11th. Instructions on how to do so can be found here.