The General Plan

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TVA Launches Programmatic Environmental Review for Generator Interconnection Requests

The Tennessee Valley Authority has issued a notice of intent to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement that would create a unified NEPA review framework for transmission activities tied to generator interconnections across its Power Service Area.

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What the action does

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has issued a notice of intent to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) — assigned unique identification number PEIS-455-00-000-1781540537 — to evaluate the environmental effects of transmission system activities associated with generator interconnection requests across TVA's Power Service Area (PSA). The PEIS is intended to establish a programmatic, bounded framework to support efficient, consistent, and predictable National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review for interconnection-related transmission actions conducted under TVA's Large Generator Interconnection Procedures (LGIP), Small Generator Interconnection Procedures (SGIP), and Expedited Resource Addition Study (ERAS). Where the programmatic bounds are exceeded, the PEIS will also support tiered, site-specific reviews.

Background and rationale

TVA is an agency and instrumentality of the United States, established by an act of Congress in 1933, to foster the social and economic welfare of the people of the Tennessee Valley region and to promote the proper use and conservation of the region's natural resources. One component of that mission is the generation, transmission, and sale of reliable and affordable electric energy. According to the notice, the Tennessee Valley region is experiencing rapidly growing electricity demand driven by population increases, industrial expansion, and high-load developments — conditions the document states have caused a substantial increase in the volume of generator interconnection requests, ranging from small, distributed resources to large utility-scale projects.

The notice states that TVA has traditionally conducted environmental reviews of interconnection-related transmission actions as connected actions to each individual generation project. However, the agency explains that the consistent and predictable nature of environmental impacts associated with these actions makes them suitable for programmatic analysis. TVA's new NEPA regulations, adopted January 21, 2026 (18 CFR 1318.502), expressly encourage the use of programmatic environmental documents for geographically broad or procedurally consistent actions, providing the regulatory basis for this initiative.

Mechanism

Under the Action Alternative described in the notice, TVA would prepare the PEIS to evaluate typical environmental impacts associated with interconnection-driven transmission actions and establish bounding criteria, screening tools, and standardized siting requirements. A central mechanism is the Environmental Screening Checklist (ESC), which TVA would use to assess each proposed interconnection site and determine whether actions fall within the programmatic bounds. Site-specific NEPA analyses would be completed only when a proposed action exceeds those bounding criteria or requires additional consultation.

The PEIS would cover new construction, modification, operation, and maintenance of transmission lines, substations, switchyards, communication systems, access roads, underground components, and associated system infrastructure needed to interconnect new or modified generation resources. The framework would apply across LGIP (covering projects greater than 20 MW) and SGIP (covering projects of 20 MW or less), as well as ERAS. Under the No Action Alternative — which serves as the baseline for comparison — TVA would continue to conduct project-specific NEPA reviews for all interconnection-driven transmission actions with no programmatic framework or bounded criteria established.

The agency states the purpose of the proposed action is to support TVA's statutory mission to provide reliable, affordable electricity while meeting rising regional demand, by creating an efficient pathway that reduces schedule risk, improves process consistency, and maintains system reliability. TVA will consult with applicable federal, state, and tribal authorities and ensure compliance with relevant environmental statutes including the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and National Historic Preservation Act.

What to watch

The public comment period closes on August 14, 2026; to ensure consideration, comments must be postmarked, emailed, or submitted online no later than that date. A map showing TVA's power service territory is available on the project web page at www.tva.gov/nepa. This notice is provided in accordance with TVA's procedures for implementing NEPA under 18 CFR 1318.

Related

Sources

14 cited

Every hard fact above is grounded in and cited to a primary source record.

  1. The PEIS will evaluate the environmental effects of transmission system activities associated with generator interconnection requests across TVA's Power Service Area (PSA).

    federalregister.gov

  2. The PEIS will support review for actions conducted under TVA's Large Generator Interconnection Procedures (LGIP), Small Generator Interconnection Procedures (SGIP), and Expedited Resource Addition Study (ERAS).

    federalregister.gov

  3. TVA is an agency and instrumentality of the United States, established by an act of Congress in 1933.

    federalregister.gov

  4. A central mechanism of the Action Alternative is the Environmental Screening Checklist (ESC), which TVA would use to assess each proposed interconnection site and determine whether actions fall within the programmatic bounds.

    federalregister.gov

  5. Site-specific NEPA analyses would be completed only when a proposed action exceeds bounding criteria or requires additional consultation.

    federalregister.gov

  6. LGIP covers projects greater than 20 MW and SGIP covers projects of 20 MW or less.

    federalregister.gov

  7. Under the No Action Alternative, TVA would continue to conduct project-specific NEPA reviews for all interconnection-driven transmission actions with no programmatic framework or bounded criteria established.

    federalregister.gov

  8. TVA will consult with applicable federal, state, and tribal authorities and ensure compliance with relevant environmental statutes including the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and National Historic Preservation Act.

    federalregister.gov

  9. To ensure consideration, comments must be postmarked, emailed, or submitted online no later than August 14, 2026.

    federalregister.gov

  10. A map showing TVA's power service territory is available on the project web page at www.tva.gov/nepa.

    federalregister.gov

  11. TVA has issued a notice of intent to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) assigned unique identification number PEIS-455-00-000-1781540537.

    federalregister.gov

  12. TVA's new NEPA regulations were adopted January 21, 2026, under 18 CFR 1318.502, and encourage the use of programmatic environmental documents for geographically broad or procedurally consistent actions.

    federalregister.gov

  13. This notice is provided in accordance with TVA's procedures for implementing NEPA under 18 CFR 1318.

    federalregister.gov

  14. The PEIS would cover new construction, modification, operation, and maintenance of transmission lines, substations, switchyards, communication systems, access roads, underground components, and associated system infrastructure.

    federalregister.gov

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