TVA to hold meetings this week on Pisgah site proposal

PISGAH, Ala. (WDEF)- We are learning more about a potential TVA project in Jackson County, Alabama.

A potentially transformational project could be approved by the end of the year.

‘The Tennessee Valley is growing. We need power,” said TVA project director Scottie Barrentine.

TVA says that rapid population increase across the Tennessee Valley is causing them to plan for future energy needs.

One of their most important facilities is here at Chattanooga at Raccoon Mountain with its pumped storage facility.

Down in Jackson County right outside the town of Pisgah, where open fields on Sand Mountain may soon one day be the next pumped storage facility.

The proposed pumped storage facility would be located just west of Pisgah where County Road 88 currently sits.

The upper reservoir would overtake this current farmland and be connected down to the Tennessee River below across from the Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant.

The facility would operate like Raccoon Mountain, pumping water from the river into the upper reservoir to be used for energy when needed.

Barrentine said, “When we need additional energy on the grid say at peaking times or during extreme weather events such as hot or cold, we’ll allow the water to go back through the turbines and make power in a traditional hydro sense.”

The TVA is also considering a new site near Stevenson for this project, but ultimately believes the Pisgah site to better fit for this project.

Barrentine says that it would likely take almost a decade to complete and be a $4-5 billion investment.

They had also considered expanding Raccoon Mountain to meet these needs, but Barrentine says this ultimately is impractical.

Barrentine said, “As we continue to look at the need for the potential grid, if we were to expand Raccoon Mountain, all that would allow us to do is to charge and discharge the water battery faster, with more units. It wouldn’t allow us to increase to overall size of the storage system.”

He says at the peak of construction, there will be up to a thousand jobs created.

There are also plans for a new bridge across the Tennessee River connecting Pisgah to U.S. Highway 72, and recreational opportunities.

Barrentine said, “Many are familiar with Raccoon Mountain and the recreational opportunities given by it, and the recreational dollars that come with it such as hiking and mountain biking.”

There will be a community meeting at Pisgah High School this Thursday night at 6 p.m. local time where residents can learn more from T-V-A officials.