New Caledonia Generation Site Project, 83202-83203 [2023-26178]

Agencies

• Tennessee Valley Authority

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 227 (Tuesday, November 28, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 83202-83203]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-26178]


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TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY


New Caledonia Generation Site 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 an environmental impact statement 
(EIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to address the 
potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed 
construction and operation of a Combustion Turbine (CT) Plant on a 
parcel of TVA-owned brownfield property in Lowndes County, Mississippi. 
The proposed New Caledonia Generation Site (NCG) would provide 
approximately 500 Megawatts (MW) of new generation capacity. The NCG 
CTs would be composed of six (6) natural gas-fired frame CTs. NCG would 
provide flexible and dispatchable transmission grid support and 
facilitate the integration of renewable generation onto the TVA bulk 
transmission system, consistent with the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan 
(IRP). Public comment is invited concerning the scope of the 
environmental review, alternatives being considered, and environmental 
issues that should be addressed. TVA is also requesting data, 
information, and analysis relevant to the proposed action from the 
public; affected Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments, 
agencies, and offices; the scientific community; industry; or any other 
interested party.

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 
January 19, 2024. To facilitate the scoping process, TVA will hold an 
in-person public open house from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on January 8, 2024, 
at the Caledonia Community Center; see https://www.tva.com/nepa for 
more information on the meeting.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Erica McLamb, NEPA 
Compliance Specialist, 1101 Market Street, BR 2C-C, Chattanooga, 
Tennessee 37402. Comments may also be submitted online at: https://www.tva.com/nepa or by email at [email protected]. The public meeting will 
be held at the Caledonia Community Center, located at 205 South St., 
Caledonia, Mississippi 39740.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erica McLamb by email to [email protected], 
by phone at (423) 751-8022, 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 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.

Background

    TVA provides electricity for local power companies serving 10 
million people in Tennessee and parts of six surrounding States, as 
well as directly to large industrial customers and Federal 
installations. TVA is fully self-financed without Federal 
appropriations and funds virtually all operations through electricity 
sales and power system bond financing. The dependable electrical 
capacity on the TVA power system is approximately 38,000 MW. TVA 
transmits electricity from generating facilities over 16,000 miles of 
transmission lines.
    In June 2019, TVA published an IRP, which was developed with input 
from stakeholder groups and the public. The 2019 IRP 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 
2019 IRP identified the potential addition of up to 500 MW of demand 
response and 2,200 MW of energy efficiency (demand-side options); 4,200 
MW of wind; 5,300 MW of storage; 8,600 MW of CT; 9,800 MW of combined 
cycle (CC); and 14,000 MW of solar by 2038. The 2019 IRP recommendation 
optimizes TVA's ability to create a more flexible power-generation 
system that can successfully integrate increasing amounts of renewable 
energy sources while ensuring reliability. Additionally, the 2019 IRP 
recommended a series of near-term actions, including evaluating 
engineering end-of-life dates for aging fossil units, to determine 
whether retirements greater than 2,200 MW would be appropriate to 
inform long-term planning. The strategic direction established by the 
2019 IRP and results from recommended near-term actions formed the 
basis for TVA's asset strategy, which continues to support affordable, 
reliable, and cleaner energy for customers. As a result of resource 
changes outlined in the asset strategy, TVA has a plan for 70% carbon 
reductions by 2030, a path to an approximately 80% carbon reductions by 
2035 and aspires to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 (based on a 2005 
baseline).
    Since the pandemic, TVA has seen a strong increase in electric 
demand. Population in the TVA service region has grown 1.5%. 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 In-Valley residential 
migration and commercial development, TVA must add generation capacity 
to the system to maintain adequate operating reserves.
    The NCG Site is an approximately 63-acre federally owned brownfield 
property managed by TVA in Lowndes, Mississippi, located approximately 
10 miles northeast of Columbus. The NCG site was the location of a 
former CT facility, originally constructed in 1998 and operated for 
several years by a private company. The company decommissioned the 
facility in 2007, removing the existing six frame CTs from the site. 
The adjacent TVA Lowndes County 161 kV and 500-kV Substation is 
approximately 82 acres and has remained in-service. The study area for 
the proposed action is 145 acres and includes the entire combustion

[[Page 83203]]

turbine property as well as the adjacent substation property.
    TVA is considering constructing and operating a combustion turbine 
facility (with generation capacity of approximately 500 MW) at the same 
brownfield location as the previously operated generating facility, 
which would allow TVA to utilize existing natural gas and transmission 
infrastructure.

Project Purpose and Need

    The purpose of the proposed action is to help provide generation to 
support continued load growth in the TVA power service area and TVA's 
decarbonization goals. TVA needs flexible, dispatchable power that can 
successfully integrate increasing amounts of renewable energy sources 
while ensuring reliability. The need for the Proposed Action is to 
ensure that TVA can meet required year-round generation and maximum 
capacity system demands and planning reserve margin targets.

Preliminary Proposed Action and Alternatives

    TVA anticipates that the scope of the EA or EIS will evaluate a No 
Action Alternative and an Action Alternative. The No Action Alternative 
provides a baseline for comparing against the Action Alternative. Under 
the No Action Alternative, TVA would not redevelop the TVA-owned 
brownfield property in Lowndes County for energy generation. The Action 
Alternative would evaluate the development of the NCG site for 
construction and operation of a CT. Whether these or other alternatives 
are reasonable warranting further consideration under NEPA would be 
determined in the course of preparing the EA or EIS.

Anticipated Environmental Impacts

    The EA or EIS will include a detailed evaluation of the 
environmental, social, and economic impacts associated with 
implementation of the proposed action. Resource areas to be addressed 
in the EA or EIS include but are not limited to air quality; aquatics; 
botany; climate change; cultural resources; emergency planning; 
floodplains; geology and groundwater; land use; noise and vibration; 
health and safety; soil erosion and surface water; socioeconomics and 
environmental justice; threatened and endangered species; 
transportation; visual resources; waste; wetlands; and wildlife. 
Measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate adverse effects will be 
identified and evaluated in the EA or EIS.

Anticipated Permits and Other Authorizations

    TVA anticipates seeking required permits or authorizations, as 
appropriate. TVA's proposed action to construct a CT may also 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; a Mississippi Large Construction 
Stormwater Permit; 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 https://www.tva.com/nepa, which includes a link to an online public comment page. Comments 
must be received or postmarked no later than January 19, 2024. 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. To facilitate the 
scoping process, TVA will hold an in-person public open house from 5 
p.m. to 7 p.m. on January 8, 2024, at the New Caledonia Community 
Center located at 205 South St., Caledonia, MS 39740; see the project 
website for more information on the 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 website. 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.

Susan Jacks,
General Manager, Environmental Resource Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2023-26178 Filed 11-27-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8120-08-P