Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 196 / Thursday, October 12, 2023 / Notices 70693 

12047 of March 27, 1978, the Foreign 

Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 

1998 (112 Stat. 2681, et seq.; 22 U.S.C. 

6501 note, et seq.), Delegation of 

Authority No. 234 of October 1, 1999, 

Delegation of Authority No. 236–3 of 

August 28, 2000, and Delegation of 

Authority No. 523 of December 22, 

2021. 

Nicole L. Elkon, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Professional 

and Cultural Exchanges, Bureau of 

Educational and Cultural Affairs, Department 

of State. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22462 Filed 10–11–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–05–P 

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY 

Allen Aeroderivative Generation 

Project 

AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent. 

SUMMARY: The Tennessee Valley 

Authority (TVA) intends to prepare an 

environmental assessment (EA) or 

environmental impact statement (EIS) to 

address the potential environmental 

impacts associated with the proposed 

installation and operation of six new 

aeroderivative combustion turbine (CT) 

units at the Allen Combustion Turbine 

(ACT) site, located in Shelby County, 

Tennessee, southwest of the City of 

Memphis. The new aeroderivative units 

would generate approximately 200 

Megawatts (MW) of power to help meet 

the growing system demand. The units 

would provide flexible and dispatchable 

transmission grid support and facilitate 

the integration of renewable generation 

onto the TVA bulk transmission system, 

consistent with TVA’s 2019 Integrated 

Resource Plan (IRP). TVA is inviting 

public comment concerning the scope of 

the review, alternatives being 

considered, and environmental issues 

that should be addressed. 

DATES: The public scoping period begins 

with the publication of this Notice of 

Intent in the Federal Register. To ensure 

consideration, comments must be 

postmarked, submitted online, or 

emailed no later than November 13, 

2023. To facilitate the scoping process, 

TVA will hold an in-person public open 

house meeting; see https://www.tva.gov/ 

NEPA for more information on the 

meeting. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be submitted by email to NEPA@tva.gov 

or online at https://www.tva.gov/NEPA. 

Comments may also be mailed to 

Matthew Higdon, NEPA Specialist, 400 

West Summit Hill Drive #WT11B, 

Knoxville, Tennessee 37902. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Matthew Higdon by email to nepa@

tva.gov, by phone at (865) 632–8051, or 

by mail at the address above. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice is provided in accordance with 

the Council on Environmental Quality’s 

Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500 to 1508) 

and TVA’s procedures for implementing 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA). 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 

this mission is the generation, 

transmission, and sale of reliable and 

affordable electric energy. 

Preliminary Proposed Action and 

Alternatives 

TVA anticipates that the scope of the 

EA or EIS will evaluate an Action 

Alternative and a No Action Alternative. 

Under the Action Alternative, TVA 

would install and operate six new 

aeroderivative combustion turbine units 

generating approximately 200 MW of 

power at ACT. TVA would also 

continue to operate two existing CT 

units which would provide an 

additional 120 MW of power. The new 

units would support fast-start 

dispatching and have synchronous 

condensing capabilities to improve grid 

stability. Four of the units would have 

black-start capabilities. Under the 

proposal, TVA would implement the 

best available control technologies to 

mitigate air emissions. Construction 

would occur over a one-year timeframe 

(approximately) beginning in 2025 or 

2026, with construction activities taking 

place within previously disturbed areas 

at ACT and adjacent properties. 

Commercial operations would begin in 

2025 or 2026. 

Under the No Action Alternative, 

TVA would not install new 

aeroderivative CT units at the ACT, and 

TVA would retire all existing units. The 

No Action alternative provides a 

baseline for comparing against the 

Action Alternative. 

Background 

In the 2019 IRP, TVA evaluated six 

scenarios (plausible futures) and five 

strategies (potential TVA responses to 

those plausible futures) and identified a 

range of potential resource additions 

and retirements throughout the TVA 

power service area, which encompasses 

approximately 80,000 square miles. The 

target supply mix adopted by the TVA 

Board through the 2019 IRP included 

the addition of up to 5,200 MW of 

simple cycle capacity by 2028 to 

facilitate the integration of solar onto 

the TVA bulk power system. 

Investments in adding aeroderivative 

CTs to the peaking fleet aligns with the 

direction in the IRP, which 

recommended enhancing system 

flexibility to integrate renewables and 

distributed resources, with substantial 

solar additions over the next two 

decades. As the amount of solar 

generation on the TVA generation 

portfolio continues to increase, 

flexibility of the remainder of the fleet 

becomes even more important. For 

instance, cloud patterns that 

temporarily block the sun and reduce 

solar generation require other generating 

units to respond to continue to reliably 

supply power to customers. 

Aeroderivative CTs are inherently wellsuited to provide flexibility, enabling 

the remainder of the system to better 

integrate renewables. 

Since the completion of the IRP, TVA 

has seen a strong increase in electric 

demand. Population has increased in 

the TVA service region by 1.5 percent 

since 2019. TVA expects continued 

strong growth in annual electric demand 

through the middle of this decade. 

Forecasted electric demand is expected 

to grow more than one percent per year 

on average between 2023–2026. Current 

system modeling shows that with 

increased residential migration and 

commercial development, TVA must 

add capacity to the system to maintain 

adequate operating reserves. 

In 2019, TVA also completed a CT 

Modernization Study to evaluate the 

condition of its existing CT units and 

form recommendations for investments 

to ensure a reliable and flexible peaking 

fleet into the future. The results of the 

study identified the ACT units as the 

‘‘most challenged’’ based on their age 

and material condition and 

recommended that they be replaced. 

The CT Modernization Study also 

recommended adding new 

aeroderivative CTs to enhance system 

flexibility, integrate increasing 

renewable capacity, and provide 

dispatchable capacity. The proposed 

action would also be consistent with the 

findings and recommendations of this 

study. 

In June 2021, TVA issued an 

environmental assessment (EA) 

addressing the retirement of the CT 

units at Allen. At that time, TVA issued 

the Paradise and Colbert Combustion 

Turbine EA and an associated finding of 

no significant impact, in which TVA 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
70694 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 196 / Thursday, October 12, 2023 / Notices 

addressed the retirement of all 20 CT 

units at its Allen and Johnsonville 

plants and the replacement of the 

capacity lost with new CT units at its 

Paradise and Colbert plants. Under the 

current proposal, TVA is considering 

the continual operation of existing Units 

19 and 20 at ACT, previously identified 

for retirement. 

In December 2022, during Winter 

Storm Elliott, 16 of the units at ACT 

failed to start, impacting the TVA 

system position by 240 MWs. Since this 

event, these 16 units at Allen have 

ceased operations. Only two units at 

ACT (Units 19 and 20) are operable. 

Project Purpose and Need 

The purpose of the proposed action is 

to increase the flexibility and reliability 

of TVA power system by improving 

TVA’s transmission system stability in 

western Tennessee and providing new, 

dispatchable generation to support the 

continued system load growth 

experienced in the TVA power service 

area over the past few years. These 

improvements would help TVA to 

expand and integrate renewable energy 

resources onto its transmission grid, 

which would allow TVA to advance its 

decarbonization goals. 

TVA has identified the need to 

improve the stability of its transmission 

system in the western portion of 

Tennessee. In this area, additional 

resources are needed to ensure that 

adequate transmission voltages are 

maintained within the desired limits. In 

addition, as identified in the 2019 IRP, 

TVA needs flexible, dispatchable power 

that can successfully integrate 

increasing amounts of renewable energy 

sources while ensuring it can meet 

required year-round generation and 

maximum capacity system demands and 

planning reserve margin targets. 

Anticipated Environmental Impacts 

The EA or EIS will include an 

evaluation of the environmental, social, 

and economic impacts associated with 

implementing the proposed action. 

Because all ground disturbing activities 

associated with the proposal would 

occur within previously disturbed areas 

of TVA’s Allen facility, TVA anticipates 

that the primary issues to be addressed 

in the EA or EIS will be impacts to air 

quality, climate change, environmental 

justice, and transportation. Other 

resource issues, including 

socioeconomics and surface water 

quality, will be addressed. Measures to 

avoid, minimize, and mitigate adverse 

effects will be identified and evaluated 

in the EA or EIS. TVA seeks input from 

the public during the scoping period on 

other relevant issues that should be 

considered and potential mitigation 

measures. 

Anticipated Permits and Other 

Authorizations 

TVA anticipates seeking required 

permits or authorizations, as 

appropriate. TVA’s proposed action may 

require issuance of an air permit under 

the Clean Air Act; an Individual or 

Nationwide Permit under Section 404 of 

the Clean Water Act; Section 401 Water 

Quality Certification; conformance with 

Executive Orders on Environmental 

Justice (12898), Wetlands (11990), 

Floodplain Management (11988), 

Migratory Birds (13186), and Invasive 

Species (13112); and compliance with 

Section 106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act, Section 7 of the 

Endangered Species Act, and other 

applicable Local, Federal, and State 

regulations. 

Public Participation and Scoping 

Process 

Scoping, which is integral to the 

process for implementing NEPA, 

provides an early and open process to 

ensure that issues are identified early 

and properly studied; issues of little 

significance do not consume substantial 

time and effort; the draft EA or EIS is 

thorough and balanced; and delays 

caused by an inadequate EA or EIS are 

avoided. TVA seeks comment and 

participation from all interested parties 

for identification of potential 

alternatives, information, and analyses 

relevant to the proposed action in this 

EA or EIS. Public comments received 

during the scoping period will assist 

TVA in determining the appropriate 

level of NEPA review. 

Information about this project is 

available at https://www.tva.gov/NEPA, 

which includes a link to an online 

public comment page. Comments must 

be received or postmarked no later than 

November 13, 2023. Federal, state, local 

agencies, and Native American Tribes 

are also invited to provide comments. 

Please note that any comments received, 

including names and addresses, will 

become part of the project 

administrative record and will be 

available for public inspection. TVA 

plans to have an open house meeting 

during the scoping period. Visit https:// 

www.tva.gov/NEPA to submit comments 

and obtain more information about the 

open house meeting. 

EA or EIS Preparation and Schedule 

TVA will consider comments received 

during the scoping period and develop 

a scoping report which will be 

published online. The scoping report 

will summarize public and agency 

comments that were received and 

identify the projected schedule for 

completing the environmental review 

process. TVA will post a draft EA or EIS 

for public review and comment on the 

project web page. TVA anticipates 

holding a public open house after 

releasing the draft EA or EIS. TVA 

expects to release the draft EA or EIS in 

Spring or Summer 2024 and a final EA 

or EIS in late 2024. If an EIS is prepared, 

TVA would publish a Record of 

Decision at least 30 days after the 

release of the final EIS. 

Authority: 40 CFR 1501.9. 

Rebecca Tolene, 

Vice President, Environment and 

Sustainability. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22517 Filed 10–11–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8120–08–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

[Docket No. FAA–2023–0754; Summary 

Notice No. 2023–40] 

Petition for Exemption; Summary of 

Petition Received; Global Aviation 

Technologies 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of petition for exemption 

received. 

SUMMARY: This notice contains a 

summary of a petition seeking relief 

from specified requirements of Federal 

Aviation Regulations. The purpose of 

this notice is to improve the public’s 

awareness of, and participation in, the 

FAA’s exemption process. Neither 

publication of this notice nor the 

inclusion or omission of information in 

the summary is intended to affect the 

legal status of the petition or its final 

disposition. 

DATES: Comments on this petition must 

identify the petition docket number and 

must be received on or before November 

1, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified 

by docket number FAA–2023–0754 

using any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and follow 

the online instructions for sending your 

comments electronically. 

• Mail: Send comments to Docket 

Operations, M–30; U.S. Department of 

Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Room W12–140, West 

Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 

20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: Take 

comments to Docket Operations in 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1