Oak Ridge Today

DOE, ORNL report estimates more than 65 gigawatts of hydropower

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory Sign

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Sign

Energy Department report finds major potential to increase clean, sustainable U.S. hydropower

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Tuesday released a renewable energy resource assessment detailing the potential to develop new electric power generation in waterways across the United States. The report estimates that there are more than 65 gigawatts (GW) of potential new hydropower development across more than three million U.S. rivers and streams. That’s nearly equivalent to the current U.S. hydropower capacity, a press release said.

The release said the findings demonstrate one of the ways the United States can further diversify its energy portfolio with sustainable and clean domestic power generation.

“The United States has tremendous untapped clean energy resources and responsible development will help pave the way to a cleaner, more sustainable and diverse energy portfolio,” Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said. “As the Energy Department works with industry, universities, and state and local governments to advance innovative hydropower technologies, the resource assessment released today provides unparalleled insight into new hydropower opportunities throughout the country.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge could become first EPA-designated Green Power community in Southeast

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

The City of Oak Ridge is on the verge of being selected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a Green Power Community, the first in the Southeast, a press release said.

The EPA’s Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that encourages organizations to buy renewable energy. To be designated as a Green Power Community, a local government must purchase or produce green power in amounts that meet EPA minimum purchase requirements as determined by community electricity usage.

Green power is defined as electricity generated from renewable resources, such as wind, solar, biogas, biomass, and low-impact hydropower. Oak Ridge Electric Department customers can buy Green-e Energy certified renewable energy through the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Green Power Switch program.

To qualify, local governments must also initiate a community-wide green power campaign to encourage renewable energy purchases. The City of Oak Ridge, playing off its nickname as the Secret City due to its historical origins, created a campaign called, “The Secret’s Out: Oak Ridge Loves Green Power,” to encourage residents and businesses to buy green power. [Read more…]

TVA meets winter peak demand record

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KNOXVILLE—The Tennessee Valley Authority met a record-breaking winter demand for electricity Friday morning with an estimated 33,345 megawatts when the average temperature across the region hovered at 7 degrees.

This would be TVA’s highest demand for electricity since the summer of 2007 and third-highest in TVA history, a press release said. The previous winter record was 32,572 megawatts set on Jan. 16, 2009.

Meeting the record demand required the combined efforts of TVA’s employees and generating facilities, coordination with the Valley’s 155 local power companies and large industrial customers, and the cooperation of businesses and households to conserve, the press release said.

The release said TVA received 29 percent of its power from coal-fired plants, 21 percent from nuclear plants, 24 percent from natural gas plants, 12 percent from hydroelectric dams, 2 percent from wind farms, and 12 percent from power market purchases. [Read more…]

Frigid temps lead to high electrical demand; TVA asks for reduced consumption

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Frigid temperatures are causing high demand for electricity across the Southeastern United States, the Tennessee Valley Authority said Thursday.

As a result, TVA is asking all electric power consumers—including residential, commercial, and industrial customers—to voluntarily reduce their use of electricity until Friday afternoon.

“Any reductions in electricity use can help ensure a continued supply of power to essential services throughout TVA’s seven-state service territory and avoid interruptions of service,” the public utility said in a press release. “All available generating resources are being used to meet the peak power demand.” [Read more…]

TVA system meets single-day electricity record

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TVA Offices in Chattanooga

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

Tennessee Valley residents set a single-day record for electricity use while keeping warm during this week’s arctic cold wave, the Tennessee Valley Authority said Wednesday.

Homes and businesses across TVA’s seven-state region used 703 gigawatt-hours of electricity on Tuesday, the most ever for a 24-hour, one-day period. TVA’s previous record was 701 gigawatt-hours on Jan. 8, 2010.

This came one day after TVA had its fourth highest “energy day” ever on Monday with 678 gigawatt-hours.

The Valley’s average temperature Tuesday never got above 21 degrees, and the average was just 4 degrees that morning when TVA’s power system experienced its second highest winter peak power demand in the public utility’s history. [Read more…]

TVA expects high electricity demand during cold wave

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TVA Offices in Chattanooga

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

The Tennessee Valley Authority expects plunging temperatures from an arctic cold wave moving across the region will produce high demand for electricity.

TVA’s bulk electric system remains secure and stable at this time, a press release said.

“TVA has been monitoring and carefully preparing for this blast of potentially record-cold weather since last week,” TVA Chief Operating Officer Chip Pardee said. “We have taken proactive measures so the system remains robust and reliable for our customers and power users across the Valley.” [Read more…]

TVA tax equivalent payments total $547 million in 2013

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KNOXVILLE—The Tennessee Valley Authority provided $547 million in tax equivalent payments in fiscal year 2013 to states and local governments where it sells electricity or has power properties.

TVA pays tax equivalent payments annually in the eight states where it sells electricity or owns generating plants, transmission lines, substations and other assets, and directly to 146 local governments where TVA owns power facilities. [Read more…]

Final milestone in U.S.-Russian partnership converting nuclear warheads into fuel

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Ernest Moniz

Ernest Moniz

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Russia has converted 500 metric tons of highly enriched uranium—the equivalent of 20,000 nuclear warheads—and the resulting low enriched uranium, or LEU, has been delivered to the United States, fabricated into nuclear fuel, and used in nuclear power plants to generate nearly 10 percent of all U.S. electricity for the past 15 years, federal officials said.

That’s roughly half of all commercial nuclear energy produced domestically during that period, a U.S. Department of Energy press release said.

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced the final LEU shipment on Thursday.

The LEU was derived from Russian weapons-origin highly enriched uranium, or HEU, under the 1993 U.S.-Russia HEU Purchase Agreement, commonly known as the Megatons to Megawatts Program, the press release said. [Read more…]

TVA’s Green Power Switch generates one million megawatt-hours of electricity

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TVA Ed Stephens and Buffalo Mountain Wind Farm

Ed Stephens, program manager for the Renewable Energy Program at the Tennessee Valley Authority, explains the 18 wind turbines at the Buffalo Mountain Wind Farm north of Oliver Springs.

WINDROCK MOUNTAIN—A Tennessee Valley Authority program that allows customers to buy electricity produced by renewable energy sources has generated about one million megawatt-hours—enough to power 68,000 homes, officials said Monday.

TVA considers the innovative Green Power Switch program, the first of its kind in the Southeast when it started 13 years ago, a success story. TVA said the program has helped prevent more than 700,000 tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere. That’s equal to keeping about 135,000 cars off the road for a year.

And it’s grown from 2,000 customers in 2000 to roughly 12,000 today. That could be because customers today are more aware of environmental concerns and have a greater understanding of their power sources, said Patty West, director of TVA’s Renewable Energy Program. [Read more…]

TVA breaks all-time record for power generation from its dams

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Norris Dam

The Norris Dam in Anderson County can produce electricity for the Tennessee Valley Authority. (Photo courtesy TVA)

KNOXVILLE—More electricity was generated from the Tennessee Valley Authority’s 29 hydroelectric dams in fiscal year 2013, which ended Sept. 30, than in any other year in the agency’s 80-year history.

The dams provided 18.5 million megawatt-hours of clean, renewable energy, breaking the previous record set in 1973 by 122,000 MWh. That is enough electricity to serve more than 1.2 million homes in the TVA service area for an entire year.

Above-average rain and runoff fueled the increase in hydro generation. The Tennessee Valley received almost 62 inches of rainfall and almost 30 inches of runoff in fiscal 2013, which were 121 percent and 136 percent of normal, respectively. Runoff is the amount of rainfall that actually reaches streams and creeks, and eventually the Tennessee River, its tributaries, and TVA’s dams. [Read more…]

Council to consider utility rate increases, sewer tanks, new fire trucks

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Emory Valley Road Sewer System Holding Tank

A draft image of what a sewer system holding tank could look like on Emory Valley Road east of the former Daniel Arthur Rehabilitation Center. The proposal could change based upon input from Oak Ridge City Council members. (Images courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

Oak Ridge officials are considering utility rate increases that could cost many residents another $6.87 per month, and they have also proposed building three large sewer system holding tanks, including two near busy roadways, in response to a federal order requiring the city to stop all sewer system overflows by September 2015.

Council could consider those proposals, as well as a request to buy three new fire trucks, during its Sept. 9 meeting. [Read more…]

TVA board approves smaller budget, 1.5 percent rate increase

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KNOXVILLE—The Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors approved a $10.5 billion fiscal year 2014 budget at its meeting Thursday and a 1.5 percent retail rate increase—TVA’s first increase in two years.

The public utility said the rate increase is less than the economy’s modest growth in inflation since the last increase in 2011, and it will add about $1.50 to the monthly power bill of a residential consumer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity. [Read more…]