Future Grid Performance

A variety of factors are impacting and influencing the energy sector: rapid technology advancement, regulatory changes, electrification and more — all of which make the shift to decarbonize the energy system more complex.

TVA aspires to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 while supporting broader national efforts to create a clean energy economy. This will require partnership, innovation and continued investment in new technologies. TVA is investing in a diverse suite of options for further carbon reduction — including up to 10GW of solar and increasing amounts of energy storage — while also exploring emerging technologies like advanced nuclear reactors and alternative fuels.

The addition of more renewable energy resources, such as wind, solar and energy storage, will present challenges to the way we plan and operate the grid. That’s because renewable energy is weather-dependent (variable energy resources) and uses inverters to produce energy and interact with the grid (inverter-based resources). These characteristics are different from traditional power plants, like coal, which have fuel delivered on-site and use rotating machines to produce energy.

Planning and Operating the Future Grid

A variety of factors are impacting and influencing the energy sector: rapid technology advancement, regulatory changes, electrification and more.

The addition of renewable energy resources, such as wind, solar and energy storage, present challenges to the way we plan and operate the grid. That’s because renewable energy is weather-dependent (variable energy resources) and uses inverters to produce energy and interact with the grid (inverter-based resources. These characteristics are different from traditional power plants, like coal, which have fuel delivered on-site and use rotating machines to produce energy.