The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) announced today they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to provide DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and potentially other Federal facilities in TVA’s service territory, with 100% locally supplied carbon pollution-free electricity (CFE) by 2030. In December 2021, President Biden tasked the Federal Government with leading by example and leveraging its scale and procurement power to tackle the climate crisis, and the MOU will advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s Federal Sustainability Plan goal of sourcing 100% CFE to power Federal facilities by 2030.
“At DOE, we are on the cutting edge of researching and developing innovative clean-energy technologies, and it makes perfect sense that we partner with TVA to accelerate their deployment,” said U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy David M. Turk, who signed the MOU on behalf of DOE. “Together, we will show the Tennessee Valley Authority’s energy producers and consumers what is possible in the transition to clean energy.”
“Energy must be a collaboration where we work together to find practical solutions that drive us towards a clean energy future,” said TVA President and CEO Jeff Lyash. “TVA is proud to be an industry leader in carbon reduction, and we are excited to work with the Department of Energy to explore options to provide 100% clean energy to crucial Federal operations.”
“Powering our government with clean energy in the Tennessee Valley Authority’s footprint is good for jobs, our economy, and our environment,” said Federal Chief Sustainability Officer Andrew Mayock. “It is leadership and partnerships like this one that will accelerate our nation’s transition to a clean energy future.”
While the MOU centers on DOE’s facilities in Oak Ridge, the two agencies will look to partner with other Federal properties in TVA’s service territory, which includes Tennessee and portions of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Virginia. TVA is a corporate agency of the United States, receiving no taxpayer funding, and is the nation’s largest public power supplier, delivering energy to 10 million people. It was established 90 years ago to serve the Southeastern United States and the nation by developing innovative solutions to solve complex challenges.
In the coming months, DOE and TVA will develop a roadmap that could be implemented to provide DOE and potentially other Federal customers served by TVA with 100% CFE by 2030 on an annual basis, with at least 50% locally supplied CFE on an hourly basis to match Federal agency demand on a 24/7 hourly basis.
The partnership between DOE and TVA supports President Biden’s December 2021 Executive Order 14057 reestablishing the Federal Government as a leader in sustainability and setting the example for the nation to meet the Administration’s goals of a carbon pollution-free electricity sector by 2035 and net-zero emissions economy-wide by 2050.
The agreement builds on the Federal Sustainability Plan, which aims to create demand for local clean energy and create a more stable and resilient grid while supporting well-paying jobs. Earlier this year, the Biden-Harris Administration announced similar agreements between Xcel Energy and DOE to provide CFE to facilities in Colorado and the U.S. General Services Administration for facilities in the Midwestern states of Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
In July, DOE announced the Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative, an innovative effort to repurpose parts of DOE-owned lands-portions of which were previously used in the nation’s nuclear weapons program-into the sites of clean-energy generation. Initially the initiative will be focused on DOE facilities in Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Washington.