CUMBERLAND CITY, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Tennessee Valley Authority board voted Wednesday to reverse course and keep the old coal-fired Cumberland Fossil Plant up and running alongside the new Natural Gas Plant when it comes online later this year.
TVA announced that the coal plants here and in Kingston will continue operations “beyond previously scheduled retirement dates, aligning with the (Trump) Administration’s energy dominance strategy to prioritize domestic energy production that strengthens America’s economy and security.”
“TVA is building America’s energy future while keeping the lights on today,” said Don Moul, TVA president and CEO, in the announcement. “Our mission is clear: provide reliable, affordable power for the 10 million people we serve. Taking steps to continue operations at Cumberland and Kingston and completing new generation under construction are essential to meet surging demand and power our region’s growing economy.”
Rise in demand from AI, population growth
The plan had been to shutter the high-pollution Fossil Plant, or “steam plant,” which uses coal to create energy and has been in operation since 1973, about 20 southwest of Clarksville.
But TVA spokesman Scott Brooks told Clarksville Now that energy demand has risen beyond expectations since that decision was made, including from AI and population growth.
Data centers, including the Google Data Center at the Clarksville-Montgomery County Industrial Park, are now making up 18% of TVA’s industrial load, and that number is rising, with power-intensive AI use being a factor in that rising demand. And people keep moving here. Brooks said the population is growing as fast as the data center demand.
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The need for stable power was recently demonstrated during Winter Storm Fern, when coal-based power generation increased 31% – accounting for 21% of U.S. power output – while solar, wind and hydropower dropped significantly, the release said. TVA’s coal fleet reliably delivered 14% of the region’s power during peak demand on Jan. 27.
The new $2.1 billion Cumberland Natural Gas plant will provide 1,450 megawatts of power – enough to power 840,000 homes. The Fossil Plant provides 2,500 megawatts, so keeping both going will generate a total of almost 4,000 megawatts of power coming from the Cumberland City TVA site.
At this time, there are close to 1,900 workers employed at the Fossil Plant, which includes 247 TVA staff members and just over 450 subcontractors.
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