With cold winds and below average seasonal temperatures, Winter Storm Elliot brought subzero temperatures through Kentucky in December 2022. The storm impacted the reliability of energy providers such as the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and to avoid that from happening again the TVA has invested around $123 million into heat tracing and retaining technology.
TVA hosted a tour of their Paradise Combined Cycle Plant in Drakesboro to share what precautions have been set in place if winter temperatures were to take a steep drop. In late 2022 the winter storm resulted in rolling backouts in the TVA coverage region.
The Drakesboro plant began operations in 2017 replacing Paradise Fossil Plant’s Unit One and Unit Two. Tour guide and Plant Manager Jim Phelps says at the plant natural gasses run a combustion turbine which fuels a generator creating energy and the exhaust from that turbine is captured and converted into steam which then runs a steam turbine fueling another generator and creating more energy.
Phelps says without the secondary turbine and generator, the exhaust from the natural gas turbine would just be released into the atmosphere.
The combined energy production methods can produce up 1,100 Megawatts of energy for the service region. However, the production was partly inhibited when Winter Storm Elliot struck, because plant facilities were subjected to subzero temperatures impacting their operations.
Guiding the tour, Phelps pointed toward where they have taken weather precautions. For example, piping responsible for cooling water has been incased in plastic in order to maintain a suitable temperature.
Along with using plastic, some pipes have been lined with heat tracing technology and have insulated fabric covers to help retain heat.
Although last year’s storm negatively impacted TVA’s work, Phelps says the storm showed them where some of their vulnerabilities were. Phelps says before the storm they thought they were weather prepared, but saw that some of their external piping and transmitter lines could not withstand subzero temperatures.
Another area TVA has focused on strengthening is their facility installation in order to better retain heat. Phelps says they feel ready to operate through low winter temperatures if they come. Along with Phelps, Pennyrile Electric Keys Account Manager Michael Oglesby says he too believes TVA’s preparations can withstand a harsh winter.
TVA is an energy provider to Pennyrile Electric who provides electricity to the nine-county region. Beyond TVA’s efforts to conserve their own resource and energy use, Oglesby emphasizes the residents can also find ways to conserve their electricity use at energyright.com.
After dedicating around $123 million to winterizing TVA facilities, Phelps says in the coming fiscal year, around $120 million will go toward addressing more vulnerabilities at TVA facilities.
Though the TVA has made steps toward being weather prepared, harsh weather like that seen across the region in last year’s winter storm has not yet been projected.
