Oak Ridge Today

Roane economic development group considers distribution of public image funds

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The Roane County Economic Development Foundation will meet in a special meeting at 9 a.m. Monday, September 8, at Kingston City Hall to consider the distribution of public image funds.

Participants will include Roane County Economic Development Foundation members, Tennessee Valley Authority Senior Vice President Bob Deacy, TVA Senior Vice President John Bradley, TVA Vice President Justin Maierhofer, TVA Senior Manager Leslie Nale, Roane County Executive Ron Woody, Kingston Mayor Troy Beets, Harriman Mayor Chris Mason, and Rockwood Mayor Jim Watts.

Kingston City Hall is at 900 Waterford Place in Kingston.

TVA said its support for economic development priorities in Roane County and its communities are an important part of TVA’s commitment to contribute to the area’s long-term development.

Five TN sites, including Norris cabins, added to National Historic Register

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Norris Dam State Park Rustic Cabin Interior

The interior of a rustic cabin at Norris Dam State Park. (Photos courtesy Tennessee State Parks/Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation)

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NASHVILLE—The Tennessee Historical Commission has announced that five Tennessee sites, including rustic cabins at Norris Dam State Park, have been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The National Register of Historic Places is the nation’s official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation. It is part of a nationwide program that coordinates and supports efforts to identify, evaluate and protect historic resources. The Tennessee Historical Commission, as the State Historic Preservation Office, administers the program in Tennessee.

“The National Register is an honorary recognition for time-honored places that enrich our communities and make them unique,” State Historic Preservation Officer and Executive Director of the Tennessee Historical Commission Patrick McIntyre said. “We hope this recognition helps generate and reinforce an appreciation for these special properties, so they can be retained for present and future generations of Tennesseans.”

Sites recently added to the National Register of Historic Places include: [Read more…]

Roane County Chamber has new board chair, members

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Gail Lyke

Gail Lyke

The Roane County Chamber of Commerce board of directors has a new chair and members.

The board chair for the 2014-2015 year is Gail Lyke, vice president and branch manager at First Bank of Tennessee in Rockwood. Lyke officially took over July 17 from outgoing board chair Chris Ahler of Visionary Horizons Wealth Management at the Chamber’s first board meeting of the new fiscal year. Lyke previously served as the Chamber’s treasurer for the past two years and has served on the board since 2008.

Lyke was named the 2013 Chamber Woman of the Year. She is a graduate of Leadership Roane County and serves on the Leadership Roane County Alumni Association Board, as well as the Roane County Association of Women Executives, where she previously served as past president, and as a member of the Rockwood Civitan Club. Lyke also served on the Rockwood Planning Commission.

Lyke said her focus for the year will be to work with the board of directors and the president to “help facilitate the transition and changes that have been put in place to move the Chamber into a new value-added membership structure, encouraging both membership growth and retention.” [Read more…]

TVA: Watts Bar Unit 2 more than 90 percent complete, key milestones ahead

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Watts Bar Unit 2 Nuclear Reactor Vessel

The core barrel being lowered into the Watts Bar Unit 2 nuclear reactor vessel. The core barrel is over 33 feet tall and weighs 282,000 pounds and will hold 193 nuclear fuel assemblies. Once operational by the end of 2015, Watts Bar Unit 2 will produce approximately 1,150 megawatts of carbon free electricity, enough for 650,000 homes. (Photo courtesy Tennessee Valley Authority)

 

SPRING CITY—The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Bar Nuclear Plant’s Unit 2 reactor is more than 90 percent complete and moving through key testing to become the nation’s first new nuclear generation of the 21st century.

In the eighth quarterly report since TVA revised its estimate to complete the project, TVA said Monday that Watts Bar Unit 2 continues to meet safety and quality targets and remains on schedule and within budget to become the first U.S. reactor to generate “new” power in nearly two decades, and the first since Watts Bar Unit 1 in 1996.

Watts Bar Unit 2 is projected to begin commercial operation between September 2015 and June 2016, with a most likely date by December 2015. The project has a projected completion cost between $4 billion and $4.5 billion, with a most likely target of $4.2 billion.

Testing of individual and combined plant systems is under way, TVA said in the latest quarterly update, covering February to April 2014. The first major system test, called open vessel testing, began ahead of schedule during the period and was completed earlier this summer. OVT involves pumping water into the reactor vessel through systems used when shutting down the reactor and in support of nuclear operations. [Read more…]

TVA to pay $27.8 million to settle ash spill lawsuits

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Kingston Fossil Plant Ash Spill Cleanup

Ash that spilled into the brown embayment pictured above had been removed by June 2013, and workers placed a black plastic liner over an ash containment cell in the background, preparing to close it. The ash spilled in December 2008 when a storage cell failed at the Kingston Fossil Plant, back left.

 

KNOXVILLE—The Tennessee Valley Authority announced Friday that it will pay $27.8 million to settle dozens of lawsuits filed by hundreds of plaintiffs after the largest ash spill in U.S. history.

The 63 lawsuits that had been pending in U.S. District Court in Knoxville involved more than 850 plaintiffs. They had asserted claims against TVA arising from the 2008 ash spill at Kingston Fossil Plant. The lawsuits will be dismissed, bringing the legal battle to an end after more than five years.

The settlement, known as a mediated global resolution, was outlined in documents submitted Friday to the U.S. District Court in Knoxville, a press release said. It comes after nearly two years of mediation ordered by U.S. District Judge Thomas Varlan. The judge must still approve it.

The mediated global resolution has been approved by the TVA board of directors. TVA will pay the $27.8 million to the court clerk to be disbursed to the plaintiffs’ attorneys as ordered by the court, the release said. [Read more…]

SL Tennessee expansion could be largest in industrial employment since World War II

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SL Tennessee Expansion Media Availability

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, center, announces 1,000 new jobs as part of an $80.5 million expansion at auto parts manufacturer SL Tennessee in Clinton. Also pictured from left are Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, Clinton Mayor Scott Burton, and U.S. Senator Bob Corker.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11:30 a.m. July 26.

CLINTON—The 1,000 new jobs announced at SL Tennessee in Clinton on Friday could be the largest expansion of industrial employment in Anderson County since World War II, officials said.

SL Tennessee, an auto parts manufacturer, plans to invest $80.5 million to build a 250,000-square-foot plant on Frank L. Diggs Drive in the Clinton I-75 Industrial Park. It will be SL Tennessee’s LLC third building in the park, and the company’s fifth expansion since locating in Clinton in 2001. The new building will manufacture automobile head lights and tail lamps for General Motors.

The jobs announcement was made in the South Korean company’s Chassis Plant on Friday near workers assembling gear shifters and brake assemblies, mostly for GM. Marking the importance of the announcement, Gov. Bill Haslam was invited to speak and so were U.S. senators Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander and Rep. Chuck Fleischmann.

“This is obviously a big day,” said Haslam, who announced the new jobs. “It shows our growth in the automotive business.”

It’s the second announcement of more than 1,000 jobs at an automotive plant in East Tennessee in the past two weeks. Last week, Volkswagen announced a $600 million investment and 2,000 new jobs in Chattanooga. [Read more…]

State, SL Tennessee announce 1,000 new jobs in Clinton

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CLINTON—Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty, along with SL Tennessee LLC officials, announced Friday that the company will build a new 250,000 square foot building to join its two existing facilities in the Clinton/I-75 Industrial Park, a Select Tennessee Certified Site. The South Korean automotive parts manufacturer will invest $80.5 million and create 1,000 new jobs in Anderson County. Located in Clinton since 2001, this will be the company’s fifth expansion.

“I want to congratulate SL Tennessee on its latest expansion and thank the company for the 1,000 new jobs created in Clinton,” Haslam said. “SL Tennessee has been an outstanding corporate citizen in Anderson County for nearly 15 years, and we are grateful to the company for bringing us one step closer to our goal of making Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.”

“Tennessee has the greatest concentration of automotive industry employment in the South and with the addition of 1,000 new jobs from today’s announcement, we continue to build on this momentum,” Hagerty said. “Upon completion of this project, SL Tennessee will more than double its workforce, making it the largest employer in Clinton and one of the largest in Anderson County. I appreciate SL Tennessee’s continued investment in our state and for providing quality jobs to our citizens.”

This is the second 1,000 plus jobs announcement in the past two weeks in the automotive sector. Last week, Volkswagen announced a $600 million investment in Tennessee and 2,000 new jobs being created in Chattanooga. [Read more…]

Anderson Commission Chair Fritts seeks re-election

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Chuck Fritts

Chuck Fritts

Chairman Chuck Fritts is seeking re-election to the Anderson County Commission, representing District 1. District 1 includes the Bull Run and Claxton precincts.

“It has truly been an honor and a privilege to represent the residents of District 1 on the Anderson County Commission,” Fritts said in a press release. “I take very seriously the trust that you have placed in me, and it is my desire that you will allow me to continue to serve you and, working with my fellow commissioners, to move Anderson County forward.”

First elected in 2002, Fritts said he brings valuable experience, knowledge, and leadership to the Anderson County Commission and has worked hard to represent the residents of District 1.

“He has taken this position very seriously and has worked long hours to do the job he felt he was elected to do,” the press release said. “He is not only well-known throughout Anderson County, but also throughout the state of Tennessee.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge first EPA green power community in Southeast

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EPA Green Power Community

Oak Ridge has been recognized as the first Green Power Community in the Southeast by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Pictured above from left during a Monday night Oak Ridge City Council meeting are Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan; Tennessee Representative John Ragan, vice chair of the House Energy Task Force; Robin Manning, executive vice president of external relations for the Tennessee Valley Authority; Marlene Witt, Oak Ridge business office manager; and Oak Ridge Electric Director Jack Suggs.

 

KNOXVILLE—The Tennessee Valley Authority has been recognized as a Top 10 utility leader in green power program sales, and Oak Ridge has been designated the first Green Power Community in the Southeast by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

TVA was recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. In the first NREL Top 10 ranking in a decade, TVA landed at No. 9 nationally with green power sales of 199,067 megawatt-hours in calendar 2013, thanks to TVA’s Renewable Energy Solutions programs and participating local power companies, a press release said.

Oak Ridge is one of the participating communities, and it received the EPA designation based in part on TVA green power purchases. TVA and Oak Ridge officials had a brief ceremony to celebrate during a Monday night Oak Ridge City Council meeting.

“TVA is proud to be recognized nationally for our strong and growing support of renewable energy,” said Patty West, director of TVA’s Renewable Energy Solutions. “Cost-effective, renewable energy is an important part of TVA’s diverse portfolio of energy-generation sources.”

A key to TVA’s renewable energy sales has been Green Power Switch, or GPS, which TVA launched on Earth Day 2000 with local power companies and members of the environmental community as the first-of-its-kind renewable power purchase program in the Southeast, the press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge concludes Green Power Community Challenge with day of service

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The City of Oak Ridge is wrapping up its two-month long Green Power Community Challenge with a day of service on Saturday, June 21, at the University of Tennessee Arboretum, which is located at 901 S. Illinois Ave. in Oak Ridge.

The Green Power Community Challenge encouraged local residents and businesses to buy green power and help Oak Ridge become an EPA-designated Green Power Community. The effort has been a tremendous success—more than 300 new customers enrolled in the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Green Power Switch program, more than triple the original goal, a city press release said.

Twenty volunteers are needed for the day of service. The volunteer work will be focused on a half-day project at the Arboretum in Oak Ridge. Specifically, volunteers will conduct a creek walk to clean up trash and debris, and construct benches for their new creek access area near the Arboretum entrance road. [Read more…]

TVA names Oak Ridge a Green Power Switch leader of the year

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TVA Offices in Chattanooga

The Tennessee Valley Authority offices in Chattanooga are pictured above. (Photo courtesy TVA)

TVA honors Green Power Switch leaders for renewable energy commitments

The Tennessee Valley Authority is recognizing local power companies and regional businesses that are driving the success of TVA’s Green Power Switch renewable energy program, a press release said. Oak Ridge is among the cities that have been honored.

TVA presented its annual Green Power Switch Leadership Awards to leading power companies in 14 categories at an event in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, May 6.

“Green Power Switch is about consumers stepping forward to support the generation of cleaner energy in the Tennessee Valley,” said Patty West, TVA director of Renewable Energy Solutions. “This program is successful because of the efforts of TVA’s local power company partners, and people and businesses who commit to supporting renewable energy generated in the valley. We are proud to honor those who continue to make our Green Power Switch program a success.” [Read more…]

TVA builds pedestrian bridge over embayment at Kingston ash spill site

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KINGSTON—The Tennessee Valley Authority will be building a pedestrian bridge over the East Embayment as part of TVA’s commitment to restore the Swan Pond area near the Kingston Fossil Plant to as good as or better than it was before the 2008 ash spill, a press release said.

For the safety of the public and work crews, access to the East Embayment by boat will be temporarily closed beginning today (Monday), the release said. Signs will be posted on the shoreline and buoys will be installed across the embayment to restrict boating access.

Bank fishing still will be available on the East Embayment and can be reached by walking trails at Lakeshore Park. The main river channel on the Emory River also will remain open. [Read more…]