TVA Board Approves $1.5 Billion Contract to Reduce Air Emissions
November 20, 2002
The TVA Board today approved a $1.5 billion contract to install pollution-control equipment at TVA fossil plants that will improve air quality throughout the region and result in jobs for Tennessee Valley residents.
Under the contract, Advatech LLC will design, manufacture, deliver, and install five scrubbers at TVA’s Paradise, Bull Run, Colbert, and Kingston fossil plants over the next eight years. Two scrubbers will be installed at Kingston to reduce emissions from nine units. The contract also provides for installation of additional scrubbers as determined by TVA.
The scrubbers will remove about 200,000 tons of sulfur dioxide from TVA coal plant emissions. When the scrubbers are completed, TVA’s SO2 emissions will be reduced by about 85 percent by the end of the decade compared to emission levels in the late 1970s. Scrubbers use limestone to remove sulfur from the flue gas in coal-fired power plants.
“TVA is in the midst of one of the largest emissions-reduction programs in the country, and adding these scrubbers is part of our commitment to cleaner air and clear skies in the Tennessee Valley and the nation,” said TVA Chairman Glenn McCullough Jr. ”While the debate on air quality legislation continues, we at TVA are focused on improving environmental conditions for the people of the Valley.”
Approximately 70 percent of the total contract amount is expected to be spent in the Valley. The vast majority of the workforce for the construction projects will come from Valley states. “This project not only is beneficial to the environment, but it will also help the economy grow, and it will keep jobs in the Valley,” said TVA Director Skila Harris.
Advatech will locate its corporate headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee, and will open a project management office in Chattanooga. Advatech was formed by URS Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to perform the necessary work for scrubber installations across the United States.
The first of the five scrubbers will be installed at Paradise Unit 3 in western Kentucky, with 300 jobs expected to be created during construction scheduled to begin next year. No schedule has been finalized for the other projects.
“The locations for these scrubbers will provide the greatest environmental benefit for the investment and will help improve air quality in the mountains of east Tennessee and western North Carolina,” said TVA Director Bill Baxter.
Both the Kingston and Bull Run plants are in east Tennessee, and Colbert is in north Alabama. TVA already has built six scrubbers at its largest units. Two are operating at Cumberland in middle Tennessee, two at Paradise, and two at Widows Creek in north Alabama.
TVA is the nation’s largest public power producer, and its power system is self-financed. It provides power to large industries and 158 power distributors that serve 8.3 million consumers in seven southeastern states.
Media Contact:
Barbara Martocci, Knoxville (865-632-8632) or TVA News Bureau, Knoxville (865-632-6000)
