Tva: What Do You Think

TVA: What do you think is causing this problem?

Coal has grown increasingly unpopular as a source of fuel, and it is not difficult to see why -- coal is dirty, environmentally problematic, and coal mines have terrible reputations of safety, particularly after a number of recent horrific mine accidents. "Several of TVA's 11 coal-fired power plants earned dubious rankings in a report detailing the country's dirtiest power plants...What we really need to be seeing from these utilities, said [the] Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, is action to retire some of these older power plants" (Eder, 2007). Poor quality coal may be the only available coal at present, given the shortages of coal due to recent mine accidents and the fact that coal is a non-renewable source of fossil fuel. And the poor quality of the coal only compounds the environmental problems of the TVA. Stricter standards by the procurement department for coal may be required, and more knowledgeable staff members about the quality of coal required by the TVA, but the procurement department may only be part of the problem.

What changes would you make to help correct this problem?

Creating, new non-coal dependant plants that meet federal environmental standards are the long-term solution. The "TVA generated nearly two-thirds of its electricity last year by burning coal, which releases carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury and a host of other pollutants... Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas that most scientists blame for warming the planet and changing climate patterns" (Eder, 2007). Environmental legislation in the future will likely further curb the TVA's use of coal, and it is better that the TVA find new ways of addressing the area that it serves, then merely focus on the problems inherent in this batch of coal. Until then, however, the procurement department must have a clearer understanding of the quality of coal to required run the current plants at the maximum level of efficiency. The department also must be better integrated into the overall organizational structure, to understand how coal is presently used by the TVA (and hopefully, how this can be improved).