Governor Bredesen Tours TVA’s Bull Run, Sequoyah Plants
August 18, 2005
CLINTON, Tenn. -- Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen today took a first-hand look at TVA’s Bull Run Fossil Plant and equipment that is part of TVA’s multibillion dollar clean-air program to reduce coal plant emissions and improve air quality in the state and throughout the Tennessee Valley.
The governor also toured the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant near Chattanooga, where he was briefed on TVA’s nuclear power program, which achieved its highest amount of generation ever in 2004. At Bull Run in Clinton, Bredesen toured the plant and was briefed on its operations and the massive emission controls that are already in place or under construction.
“TVA’s significant investment for cleaner air in Tennessee and the region is impressive,” Bredesen said following his stop at Bull Run. “The installation of new pollution control technologies at Bull Run is a key step in improving air quality for all Tennesseans.”
TVA Chairman Bill Baxter, Director Skila Harris and President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Kilgore accompanied the governor on different portions of the informational tour, and participated in briefings on TVA’s generation facilities and programs to improve air and water quality.
“We appreciate Gov. Bredesen taking time to visit both a coal and nuclear plant and see how TVA generates the power that we all need to run our homes and businesses while at the same time improving air quality,” said Baxter. “Increasing nuclear generation, which is emissions-free, and reducing emissions from our coal plants will make our air even cleaner for future generations.”
Baxter and Kilgore flew with Bredesen by helicopter from Bull Run to Sequoyah. The flight included a flyover of several facilities, including the Buffalo Mountain Wind Farm that generates the bulk of TVA’s green power and aeration systems at Watts Bar Dam to improve water quality.
Harris and Kilgore accompanied the governor on the walk-through at Bull Run, where a $300-million project is under way to install a scrubber to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions. Separate emission controls, known as a selective catalytic reduction system, are already in operation at the plant reducing nitrogen oxide emissions that contribute to ozone.
“Bull Run is one of TVA’s most efficient power plants and already has significant emission controls in operation,” said Harris. “Adding the scrubber will further improve regional air quality by removing more than 90 percent of the sulfur dioxide from the plant’s emissions.”
Bredesen, Baxter and Kilgore also walked through the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, which had the second lowest average production costs reported by nuclear utilities over a three-year period from 2002-2004. Unit 1 at Sequoyah had the highest generation ever by a TVA nuclear plant during the 2004 fiscal year.
TVA is the nation’s largest public power provider and is completely selffinanced. TVA provides power to large industries and 158 power distributors that serve approximately 8.6 million consumers in seven southeastern states.
Media Contact
John Moulton, (865) 632-8048
TVA News Bureau, Knoxville, (865) 632-6000
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From left: TVA Director Skila Harris, Governor Phil Bredesen, TVA Chairman Bill Baxter, and TVA President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Kilgore in front of Bull Run Fossil Plant in Clinton, Tenn.