TVA releases preferred expansion routes

Murphy – The Tennessee Valley Authority has identified preferred locations for a new transmission line and switching station it says would help support growth and increase power reliability in the Appalachia area of Cherokee County in North Carolina and Polk County in Tennessee.

TVA representatives told the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners on Monday night that the expansion adds a third power source to the region is needed to meet expected growth in the region. They say it will also provide flexibility when lines go down or if maintenance is required.

The representatives also said crypto mining may be a factor in the needed demand, but those decisions are made at the local level by local power companies that buy wholesale power from TVA. The expansion would be needed within two years if crypto-mining was removed from he equation.

TVA will build the Martins Creek Switching Station near 455 New Martins Creek Road, east of Murphy, and will also build a 161-kilovolt transmission line from the Apalachia Hydro Plant Substation in Reliance, Tenn., to Structure 534 near Dickey Road.

TVA said the selected route is expected to have the least impact on the area, based on public input that started in January, and additional evaluation of other factors, including social, environmental and engineering impacts. A National Environmental Policy Act review is pending, and letters have been sent to affected property owners.

The new line would be less than 26 miles and built using primarily H-frame towers. It may include steel structures on existing and new 100-foot-wide right of way.

TVA will meet with all of the property owners along the proposed right of way to obtain easements for construction, operation and maintenance of the line. Property owners would still own the property and be compensated for the easements at fair market value.

Becky Wright owns about 14 acres off Bell Hill Road near Ranger that was in the path of one proposed route. She was pleased to see her property is not in the path of the preferred route.

“I am thrilled that TVA choose the less destructive route for the 356 land owners,” she told the Cherokee Scout. “This is the route I felt best and expressed to TVA and petitioned for, but at the same time my heart feels for the others that will be affected by the route chosen.”

The preferred route affects 96 parcels with 77 property owners including four parcels and four owners affected by the switching station site,” said Wright, who has closely monitored the project for months. “Of the 77 property owners, 50 own property on existing TVA right of way (and) 27 property owners would be impacted by new right of way.”

Wright expects TVA will have more environmental challenges to face on the preferred route.

“My hope is possibly it still will not come at all as I believe it’s not needed at this time. But we are dealing with the largest federal utility in the U.S.,” she said.

The Tennessee Valley Authority is the nation’s largest public power supplier, delivering energy to 10 million people across seven Southeastern states. Wright believes that crypto mining is a driving force behind the expansion.

“I’m working with an environmental group that sent the county manager two model ordinances to make sure Cherokee County has access to,” she said. “These have been vetted by attorneys familiar with North Carolina land-use regulations to ensure they are legal and enforceable, and they have been used by other counties and municipalities through WNC to prevent or regulate crypto-mining operations in WNC communities. My hope is the planning board will work quickly to slow crypto growth.”

Wright pointed out that Cherokee County commissioners have not yet had their first meeting as a planning board to discuss a land use ordinance.

“I will continue to speak up for an ordinance to be put in place because I definitely don’t want to see the crypto mine 2.3 miles from my home grow bigger at the Ranger Tap,” she said.

“My driving force was for all the folks and many times I felt overwhelmed, but I could see and hear the voices of so many folks, that it spurred me on to keep researching and speaking up for all of us as a whole in our beautiful county.”

TVA reports that population growth is six times higher than the national rate across its seven-state region. To support this growth, TVA is investing $2.8 billion in transmission system improvements across its service area through 2027, to build the energy grid of the future that will continue to provide reliable, affordable, resilient and clean energy, TVA said in a release.

TVA is considering improvements to its transmission system that would provide power for growing load and increase power reliability in the Appalachia area of Polk County in Tennessee and Cherokee County in North Carolina. This area is served by Blue Ridge Mountain Electric Membership Corp.

TVA is expected to begin surveys in winter 2023-24 and start acquiring easements in summer 2025. Construction is scheduled to begin in winter 2025-26 and be completed in winter 2026-27.

A map of the project and additional information is available online at tva.com/transmissionprojects; note that the project affecting Cherokee County is listed under Tennessee projects.

The preferred location for the new line was selected from several options presented online at a virtual open house from Jan. 19 through Feb. 20. The preferred site for the switching station is Site A, and the preferred route for the power line is Route 40 consisting of Segments 1, 6, 11, 22, 23, 25, 28, 35, and 36.

Proposed Site A for a switching station is at 642-430 New Martins Creek Road southeast of the intersection of Hedden Road and New Martins Creek Road. It is located on the east side of, and adjacent to, TVA’s existing Harshaw Road-Weaver 161-kV Transmission Line (Line 5881).

This site alternative would require 0.4 miles of new power line to connect the proposed switching station to the Tap to Ranger Transmission Line and the Harshaw Road-Weaver Transmission Line.

The transmission line would consist primarily of H-frame, steel structures with potential for towers and single-pole, steel structures. TVA will utilize existing 100-foot-wide right of way from the Hiwassee Hydro Plant to the Apalachia Hydro Plant and will acquire new 100-foot-wide right of way for 13-14 miles.

Property owners near and along the alternative transmission line segments have been invited to a virtual open house by mail – including about 345 property owners representing about 446 parcels.