At 75, TVA steps up growth in clean and renewable energy sources;
Part of the plan is to encourage customers' energy efficiency
The Tennessee Valley Authority board made a commitment Monday to cap its carbon emissions growth by 2020 in an effort to muzzle its contributions to climate change.
Proposals to find ways to increase renewable energy sources like solar power and to persuade customers to use less electricity — including by offering incentives — were approved, too.
The actions, which came as the agency recognizes its 75th anniversary, could mark a return to the leadership role TVA took in energy conservation in the 1970s but later dropped.
Nuclear power was listed Monday among the "clean" energy sources that officials said would be looked to increasingly.
"The real objective is to reduce the carbon footprint," TVA CEO and President Tom Kilgore said after the meeting at the Marriott Shoals Hotel and Spa."Nuclear (power) does not produce carbon. I cannot argue that it doesn't produce radioactive waste that has to be dealt with.">>>MORE