TVA Deadliest Utility, Report Finds

TENNESSEE - A report released by the Sierra Club today reveals soot pollution from coal-fired power plants causes 3,800 premature deaths every year, with just 10 percent of coal plants responsible for over half of the deaths. TVA ranks worst amongst parent companies of utilities across America when it comes to premature deaths from soot (pm2.5) pollution. 

The report, titled “Out of Control: The Deadly Impact of Coal Pollution,” investigates the extent and effect of soot pollution from coal-fired power plants in the United States, where that pollution is felt, which plants and parent companies are at fault, and what can be done to ensure all communities have clean air. 

From the Report:

“The most deadly parent company is Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) - which is not owned by investors, but by the U.S. government.  Soot pollution from TVA’s four remaining coal plants (Shawnee, Cumberland, Gallatin and Kingston) affects a large swath of counties in the midwest and Great Lakes.  In early January 2023, TVA announced that it would be retiring its largest coal plant - the 2.6 GW Cumberland plant - by the end of 2028.  TVA also has plans to retire all of its coal plants by the end of 2033.  However, it's important to note that until their planned retirement year, these plants continue to burden Americans with high amounts of PM2.5 pollution.  If just these four plants continued to emit air pollution at 2019 levels, they would cause another 2,176 premature deaths until they were all retired.”

The report is also accompanied by an interactive dashboard that anyone can use to determine not only the impact of soot pollution in their community but the companies and coal plants directly responsible.

Key findings of the report include: 

• Just 17 coal plants are responsible for over half of all premature deaths from soot pollution released by coal plants.
• Only four percent of premature deaths from coal-fired power plants occur in the same county where the plant is located, and only 18 percent of premature mortality from remaining coal-fired power plants occurs in the same state where the plant is located.
• Some states are "importers" of soot pollution's burdens, meaning they experience more harm than they cause, while other states "export" a lot of soot pollution and its burdens to other states. For example, soot pollution from coal plants in Kentucky kills 304 people outside of the state’s borders every year, while 234 people die in New York every year due to soot pollution from coal plants–although New York does not have any active coal plants.   

Last Fall, TVA ended up at the top of the list of worst utilities nationwide in Sierra Club’s Dirty Truth Report which analyzed the plans of 77 utilities owned by the 50 companies most invested in fossil fuel generation and found that while the majority of the utilities had stated goals of significant carbon reduction over the next few decades, there was a colossal gap between their ongoing practices and the steps they needed to take to avert climate disaster. 

From a case study in the Dirty Truth Report (pg.15):

“TVA likes to claim it is a ‘clean-energy leader and is committed to partnering with others to go further and faster to achieve its carbon-reduction initiatives’, but the facts show this is far from the truth. Through 2030, TVA has the second highest planned gas buildout of any parent company in our analysis, has the fifth largest coal fleet, and ranks eighth in planned clean energy buildout.”

In response, Tennessee Valley Senior Campaign Representative for Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign, Amy Kelly released the following statement:

“So many of us in the southeast and in TVA’s region are working to move TVA beyond coal and forward to more reliable renewable energy that produces jobs and saves customers money. It is striking that TVA has the largest mortality rate in the nation due to continued coal use. As a federal utility, TVA should be leading the way toward renewable energy, not in deaths caused by coal pollution as it currently is.”