As Bull Run smokestacks fall, Tennessee Valley Authority plans for future

Bull Run Fossil Plant in Anderson County, prior to being imploded in June 2025. (Photo: Tennessee Valley Authority)

In a matter of minutes, the old smokestack and more recent scrubber — a tower that removes dioxide from emissions — fell like giant trees, leaving mounds of rubble as they hit the ground.

Workers set off implosions with a boom at each structure’s base on Saturday, at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant. The Claxton plant opened in 1967, and TVA retired it in 2023 as part of its plans to close all its coal plants by 2035 as the agency moves “to focus on clean energy.” 

The utility has already closed some facilities to focus on clean energy and plans to replace the coal-fired plants with natural gas, nuclear and solar plants and energy efficiency measures. 

The coal plants generate about 14% of the utility’s power. But, Melissa Greene, senior manager of media for TVA said the aging coal plants were less efficient than new plants the utility could build now.

“Sometimes it’s more efficient to close one source and open another source,” she said, adding that new ones would allow people to use even more power. 

TVA has announced plans to retire one unit at Cumberland Fossil Plant in Cumberland City by the end of 2026, Kingston Fossil Plant In Kingston by the end of 2027 and a second unit at Cumberland at the end of 2028, although Adam May with TVA media relations said “the retirement of the Cumberland and Kingston units is contingent upon the construction and commissioning of replacement generation.” 

May said TVA hasn’t decided on the retirement dates for Shawnee Fossil Plant in Kentucky or Gallatin Fossil Plant near Gallatin.

The coal phase-out started before President Donald Trump’s January inauguration. The Trump Administration has since ordered expanding rather than cutting back on coal. 

Trump issued an executive order “Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry” in April, telling various department heads to look for and get rid of policies “that seek to transition the Nation away from coal production and electricity generation.”

The federal government owns the TVA corporation. While the executive order did not mention TVA, May said the utility was “carefully reviewing” it.

“TVA continues to invest in its coal fleet to sustain the reliability and resiliency of its units,” May said. “We look forward to continuing to work with the Trump Administration to unleash American energy.” These statements seem to contradict TVA’s announced coal phase-out by 2035, even though that date is still the official goal.

Axel Ringe, conservation chair of the Tennessee Sierra Club, said he wasn’t sure what to make of statements like this. 

“We don’t know if TVA’s public statements really reflect their actual plans or if they’re just making noise to appease the administration,” Ringe said. “They had committed to closing both the Cumberland and Kingston plants, but now they’re waffling and saying maybe they will keep them open indefinitely to ‘address increased future generation needs.’”

Another issue the Sierra Club has raised with TVA — predating the Trump administration — is its planned continued use of natural gas. For example, at the former Kingston Fossil Plant site, TVA will build an energy complex that will house at least 1,500 megawatts of combined cycle and dual fuel aeroderivative natural gas combustion turbines with 100 megawatts of battery storage. 

Tennessee Valley Authority faces a push to get greener and more transparent 

At Cumberland, TVA is building over 1,400 megawatts of natural gas to be operational by the end of 2026. While the utility plans to invest more in solar power —for example, building a solar field in Kingston generating four megawatts—Ringe and the Tennessee Sierra Club chapter have advocated for even more renewable energy and less use of fossil fuels. 

Ringe said that use of renewable energy would not just cut back on greenhouse gasses and improve health and safety but also reduce costs. TVA, however, has argued that using natural gas rather than coal reduces pollutants like sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and carbon.

As for the Bull Run Fossil Plant site, TVA has floated many ideas, but May said it is currently only committing to two small-scale ones. The company Type One Energy will use part of the old plant’s office for an experiment which will not generate power but may pave the way for future fusion plants. A synchronous condenser which helps keep the overall grid’s power stable without generating power itself will use the old plant’s turbine. 

The utility has made no announcements about the rest of its grounds, however, specifically its coal ash storage locations. Ringe pointed out that the executive order on coal, combined with the Environmental Protection Agency’s deregulations may mean less restrictions on toxic coal ash, an issue that grabbed national attention due to the catastrophic Kingston coal ash spill in 2008. 

However, he pointed out TVA still must follow a 2015 Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Order to clean up the ash.

“At this point, it is hard to predict what TVA will do to deal with its active and legacy coal ash deposits,” he said. “We wait and see.”

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX