The TVA Board today heard recommendations on how TVA can help meet the Tennessee Valley’s growing demand for power through cleaner, more energy-efficient opportunities and reduce TVA’s environmental footprint.

A draft Energy Efficiency and Demand Response Plan, a draft Renewable and Clean Energy Assessment and a draft Environmental Policy were presented to the board for its review at a meeting in Knoxville.

The draft Energy Efficiency and Demand Response Plan seeks to slow the current rate of power demand growth by providing short and long-term energy efficiency opportunities to residential, business and industrial consumer groups. In the short term, the plan proposes to potentially reduce the growth in peak demand by up to 1,400 megawatts – about the amount generated by one nuclear power unit – by the end of the 2012 fiscal year.

The draft Renewable and Clean Energy Assessment strives to add more renewable and clean energy resources to help reduce carbon emissions in the Valley environment while minimizing costs and maintaining a reliable power supply. The assessment proposes to review TVA’s generation mix and identify a road map for pursuing additional renewable and clean energy supply located in the region.

The proposed Environmental Policy provides a framework for continuing to reduce TVA’s environmental footprint by reducing environmental impacts from operations and evaluating the environmental, economic and sustainable aspects of every generation resource used by TVA. The draft policy will be available on TVA’s Website, www.tva.com, and the public may submit comments online through May 4. The board will consider a proposed final policy in May.

“We have listened to ideas from experts and suggestions offered by the public and will work closely with our customers and stakeholders in finishing these staff proposals,” said TVA President and CEO Tom Kilgore. “We believe we have identified some ambitious goals to increase our energy efficiency and demand response across the entire power production and delivery process. The renewable energy assessment recommends consideration of different sources of renewable energy and a reduction in carbon intensity in TVA’s generation mix, while at the same time seeking additional energy conservation by everyone who uses electricity.”

The TVA Board held public listening sessions on energy efficiency and renewable energy in March, and TVA will conduct a series of stakeholder briefings throughout the region in April and May to receive additional public input on the energy efficiency and renewable energy proposals.

After the board considers the proposed environmental policy and the energy efficiency and renewable energy proposals at its May meeting, TVA will initiate an environmental review that will help keep the public informed of the next steps in implementing the policy and plans.

Reductions in demand and energy consumption would be achieved through four key action areas - energy efficiency programs, demand response, end-use generation and internal reductions. The draft plan recognizes the need to make a strong, long-term commitment to implement cost-effective energy efficiency improvements along with a broad education and outreach effort on benefits and opportunities for energy efficiency.

The proposed energy efficiency plan and renewable and clean energy assessment are available for review and comment by the public on TVA’s website, www.tva.com. The public may submit comments through May 12. A schedule for the public meetings on the proposals will be announced soon.

The board meeting at TVA’s headquarters in Knoxville was the first for board member Tom Gilliland of Blairsville, Ga., who took the oath to serve on the board last week after being appointed by President Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.