Tennessee Valley Authority is seeking public comments on a two-year project to build a 500-megawatt gas-powered turbine energy plant near Caledonia.
Golden Triangle Development LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins told The Dispatch the plant would be located on a 63-acre property on Caldwell Road, south of Caledonia.
Lowndes County Board of Supervisors President Trip Hairston said the facility would use methane gas-fueled turbine engines to provide supplemental power during hours of low generation from three solar farms being built in Lowndes and Clay County. The new plant also would create 15 to 30 new jobs and come online in 2025.
“When the grid needs more power, and the grid hits peak usage times, those turbines kick on and start generating power and put it on the grid as well,” Hairston said. “Solar power on the TVA grid will have times and days where they’re not generating power because the solar is dependent on sunshine. It’s a really good thing for TVA and it’s a great thing for us. We are really excited about having more power being generated here.”
Higgins said a capital investment for the project has not yet been released.
“More capacity (on the grid) is a great thing,” Higgins said. “Lowndes County is home to some of TVA’s biggest customers. (More power generation) being closer to the user of it will be a good thing.”
Origis Energy, a Florida-based solar power company, announced in 2020 that it would build two 200 megawatt solar farms in Lowndes near the Golden Triangle Regional Airport, which are both slated to come online next year.
The company also announced in 2021 it would build a third solar farm in Clay County on 2,000 acres near the Yokohama Tire plant. That farm is still on track for completion in early 2025.
TVA, a federally owned power supplier, serves portions of six states, including Mississippi. Power its plants generate is distributed throughout the grid.
Public comment period
Julia Wise, a senior communications consultant for TVA, said the public comment period began Nov. 28 and ends Jan. 19. TVA hopes to hear feedback about the project before it conducts environmental studies at the site in 2024.
“We receive those comments, then we can start the environmental review process, and we will then publish a draft environmental review, and then a final environmental review,” Wise told The Dispatch. “That feedback and review helps determine whether or not that project moves forward.”
Wise said feedback will be used to create an environmental assessment and impact statement, which will provide the public an additional chance to comment on the new plant’s benefits or potential negative impacts in Lowndes County.
Wise said TVA also plans to have an in-person open house on Jan. 8 at the Caledonia Community Center at 205 S. St. from 5 to 7 p.m. for county residents to hear about the project and submit more feedback.
County residents can also submit comments about the project to TVA via its website, or by emailing [email protected].
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