TVA Boosts Commitment To Renewable Energy

KNOXVILLE -- The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has signed a 20-year contract with Invenergy LLC, a Chicago-based energy-development company, to build and operate 18 power-generating windmills atop a mountain in eastern Tennessee.

The new units will increase by 10-fold the amount of power generated by TVA's latest venture into renewable energy sources.

They'll join three windmills that have been operating on Buffalo Mountain, near Knoxville, for three years.

Construction on the new turbines will begin in the spring, and are expected to be in operation by November. According to TVA, the 300-ft.-high turbines will provide enough wind generation to power 4,500 homes. Knoxville, TN-based TVA provides electrical service to customers in seven southern states.

Source: Industrial Maintenance and Plant Operation