Coal

The fossil facility of today is not the same coal-fired plant of decades past. For many years, we’ve taken steps to protect our natural resources and dramatically reduce emissions.

Since the 1950s, Coal-fired plants have been the backbone of our power system. They continue to produce nearly 7,000 megawatts – enough to power more than four million homes – to keep the lights on in the region even on the hottest or coldest days. Since 2017, we’ve invested $2.5 billion in state-of-the-art technology to protect the environment, significantly reducing emissions and environmental impacts.

As the industry evolves we’re reducing our reliance on coal, with plans to retire the entire coal fleet by 2035. To ensure reliability, we will not retire a plant without replacement generation in place. We’re looking at replacing retired generation with low- or zero-emission electricity sources including:

• Cleaner natural gas plants
• Increased nuclear capacity
• Investments in renewable resources
• Energy efficiency programs

Our Coal-Fired Plants

TVA’s four active coal-fired fossil plants have a total of 25 generating units. Each unit produces electricity by burning coal in a boiler to heat water to produce steam. The steam, under tremendous pressure, flows into a turbine, which spins a generator to produce electricity. The steam is cooled, condensed back into water, and returned to the boiler to start the process over.

Find out how a coal-fired power plant works.

Read more information about each plant’s history, operations and performance—as well as installed emission-reduction technology:

Built With Coal Ash

In 2022, TVA recycled more than 80 percent of coal ash produced from burning coal. The material was used for the manufacture of wallboard and cement, as well as a replacement for Portland cement in concrete.  Learn more about how recycled coal ash creates both environmental and economic benefits.