Wicker Champions TVA’s American Energy Agenda

Ninety-one years ago, Tupelo, Mississippi, became the first city to receive power from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Since then, TVA has provided reliable power to our state, making Mississippi more attractive to families and job creators. That trend continues. Crews recently broke ground on a new TVA energy plant near Caledonia, and we will see the benefits for years to come. The natural gas plant will add 500 megawatts of power to the grid-enough to power 250,000 homes.

The Caledonia plant will help meet rising energy demand and will assist Lowndes County officials, who are working hard to attract new business to the area. This October, the county welcomed a $90 million investment from an aluminum processing company, Kloeckner Metals. The increased TVA power generation will draw even more commerce to the area.

TVA Facilitates Mississippi's Economic Opportunity

Wherever TVA operates around the state, it is popular-and for good reason. The development in Lowndes County is a sample of TVA's benefit to Mississippi and the region.

The Golden Triangle is already a hub of manufacturing and innovation, and the presence of five TVA "megasites" is adding to that activity. Megasites are "shovel ready" plots of land. They have been vetted for environmental impact and have access to highways and utilities. These power-ready sites prime companies to locate in the Golden Triangle.

In Panola County, TVA helped facilitate a recent $11 million manufacturing investment. GE Aerospace expanded its operations near Batesville, adding 100 jobs. It was able to grow its operations, in part, because TVA increased power generation.

Those are just some of the recent builds. The organization helps provide reliable, resilient power to more than a third of Mississippi's counties. It manages over 2,000 miles of power lines across the state. Many of them connect to TVA transmission sites, which serve local power companies.

We can also thank TVA for significant river and land management in Mississippi. Its staff facilitates the flow of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, maintains the Pickwick Dam and Reservoir, and manages nearly 2,000 acres of public land. All these efforts support our commerce and recreation.

TVA On Forefront of American Energy

Mississippi is TVA's second-largest customer. It is no surprise that Tennessee, its namesake, is the biggest. TVA is developing several new sites in the Volunteer State, all of which will benefit Mississippi, the region, and the future of American energy.

At the Johnsonville site, situated between Nashville and Memphis, TVA is boosting its output, ultimately sending 1,200 megawatts to the system's grid. It is getting even more ambitious in East Tennessee, where it has inked several deals to expand energy production in Oak Ridge. One is between Kairos and TVA, which will send power to data centers in Tennessee and Alabama. Others, with ENTRA1 and Oklo, will increase TVA's nuclear power partnerships. Most exciting is the Clinch River Project. The initiative is at the forefront of nuclear development in the U.S., using small modular reactor technology that is at least two years ahead of all other energy companies in the country.

Senate Panel Approves New TVA Leader

TVA is committed to innovative energy production, and Congress should support that future vision. I am the only senator from a TVA state to serve on the Environment and Public Works Committee, which oversees the organization. The role gives me a chance to steer the direction of TVA and vet nominees for its leadership team. Our committee recently voted to advance four of President Trump's picks for the organization's board. I look forward to voting for their confirmation in the full Senate and then working with them to further TVA's impressive legacy.