FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Dorothy Slater, slater@therevolvingdoorproject.org
TVA Board Might Have Easily Blocked Fossil Energy Expansion, Had Senate Confirmed Them Sooner. The EPA Still Can.
In response to reports that the U.S. Senate confirmed six nominees to the Board of the Tennessee Valley Authority by voice vote Wednesday, Revolving Door Project Climate Research Director Dorothy Slater released the following statement:
“It’s encouraging but incredibly overdue that the Senate finally confirmed six new members to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Board, ensuring a quorum in 2023. Some of those members will surely bring much-needed motivation to build up the utility’s renewable energy fleet in the coming years.”
“These votes should have been prioritized many months ago — if they had, perhaps the existing board would not have handed over decision-making power on the replacement of two coal plants to CEO Jeff Lyash, who is choosing to push forward a plan to build a new gas plant despite the fossil fuel-driven climate catastrophe before us. We once again urge the Environmental Protection Agency to refer the project to the White House’s Council of Environmental Quality for further review and alignment with science and President Biden’s agenda.”
“We will continue pushing the TVA board and CEO to bring the utility in line with the President’s science-based climate and environmental goals. This federally-owned utility should lead the nation in clean energy AND economic and environmental justice practices.”
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Image credit: “Tennessee Valley Authority” by timekin is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.