New federal GHG regulations are unlikely to create pressure for additional short-term reductions, however, and most states in TVA's service area have resisted pressure to regulate GHG emissions."1. This combination is thus a feature essential if the goal is to reach the 80-50 trail in the TVA service area.
WHY DEEP DECARBONIZATION?
The article begins in Part I by exploring the basis for concluding that the 80 by 50 target is necessary to reduce the risk of catastrophic climate change. The article concludes by suggesting that private governance initiatives may also be beneficial for other organizations that are difficult to regulate.
The Deep Decarbonization Goal and Emissions
Implications for TVA
The electric utility trajectory reflects the mixed scenario described in the Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States US 2050 Vol. So not only does TVA face a shortfall in the carbon intensity of its network compared to the deep decarbonization trajectory and the likely trajectory of.
PUBLIC GOVERNANCE OF DIFFICULT-TO-REGULATE ENTITIES
What is TVA?
85 As TVA itself reports: "TVA provides electricity in a service area that is largely free from competition from other electricity suppliers under the provisions of the TVA Act." TVA 2018 10-K, supra note 83, paragraph 19. A member appointed to fill a vacancy on the Board that occurred before the expiration of the term for which the predecessor member was appointed would be appointed to the remainder of that term. The TVA legislature shows no legislative intent to limit the executive's power with respect to dismissal, and in the absence of such intent, the power does exist.
There have also been some attempts in the past to erode the anti-cherry picking provision, and the anti-cherry picking provision's protections could be limited and perhaps eliminated by federal law at some point in the future." Id.
The Prospects for National or Subnational Regulation
State Regulatory Actions
But with few exceptions, states in the TVA region have made no efforts to limit climate change. State objectives play an important symbolic role, but the priority that the TVA Act gives to state control over investments in energy resources makes it unclear whether TVA would have to meet state objectives that exceed its own voluntary objectives.127 Although state governments within the TVA service area are likely are not a source of legislative or regulatory pressure for emissions reductions, policies in states outside the TVA service area could have important implications for TVA.
So even if most states in the TVA area do not follow suit, policies by California and other governments outside the TVA area could create incentives for TVA to decarbonize.
Local Government Action
Only a few of the cities in TVA's service area participate in national climate initiatives. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS, http://www.usmayors.org/wp- content/uploads/2018/01/Cities-with-city-wide-renewable-energy-goals.pdf (last visited Oct. 14, 2019) . The targets also commit the city to install 10 MW of renewable energy by 2020 (energy from renewable sources increased to 30% by 2030).
Although Nashville was the first city in TVA territory to commit to the renewable energy goal, there have been other notable moves recently among some of TVA's largest utility customers.
PRIVATE G OVERNANCE
The Private Drivers of Decarbonization
Supply Side Pressure
B ondholders
Based on this initial analysis, thirty-three of TVA's 338 current bondholders have committed to at least one form of ESG (environmental, social governance) initiative that shows an interest in environmental impacts, totaling 9.76%. Using Bloomberg's debt number, 12.5% of TVA's bondholder debt belongs to those with an ESG commitment. 165 Although 10% of the value of TVA's bonds is already significant, this percentage will increase if the recent trend towards increased institutional investor interest in ESG issues continues.
174 Our Members, CLIMATE CHANGE INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS GROUP, https://www.iigcc.org/about-us/our-members/ (last visited Oct. 13, 2019).
Corporate Customers
Of the eleven industries represented in the Fortune 500, more than half of companies in six sectors have made environmental commitments. 195 This assumes that the average Fortune 500 company uses the same amount of electricity as the average EPA Green Power Partner in the Fortune 500. 205 Dan Levine, A Site Selector's Checklist for Localization in the US, AREA DEV. 2019), https://www.areadevelopment.com/LocationUSA/2019-US-inward-investment-guide/site-.
206 For example, Google and Facebook have pushed for renewable power for new facilities in the TVA service area.
Other Large Institutional Customers
Universities in the Tennessee Valley are underrepresented among leaders in renewable energy procurement, but a handful of the largest have made great strides in recent years. In recent years, the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, and Vanderbilt University have committed to carbon neutrality by 2050, with Vanderbilt also committing to 100% renewable energy for its campus operations.219 Additionally, in early 2020, Vanderbilt announced an agreement with TVA, Nashville Electric Service and Silicon Ranch Corporation reach agreement to build new solar facility in TVA service area. Hospitals are big users of electric power, and some, especially in large healthcare conglomerates, are also indicating increasing interest in renewable energy purchases." Kaiser Permanente, for example, the largest integrated health system in the US, has committed to carbon neutrality by 2020 and carbon positivity by 2025.
The large number of organizations and the large amount of electricity these organizations use suggest that an initiative of this type could meaningfully increase the demand for low-carbon or renewable energy in the TVA service area.
Households
However, the deployment of rooftop solar systems in the TVA service area has lagged behind many other regions, and TVA and its local distributors have made only limited solar installations available to households.230 For example, one of the most popular programs that TVA and Nashville Electric Service offers to subsidize household solar installation were canceled in late 2019.231 If storage technologies improve and fall in cost, however, TVA and its local distributors face a risk that households will defect from the grid. Private initiatives along the lines of those discussed above can induce faster household grid diversion in the absence of faster TVA grid decarbonization. TVA and other utilities have expressed concern about reduced demand for their product due to efficiency and conservation by households and large customers.
Private initiatives could include "carrots" in the form of initiatives that increase electricity demand along with "sticks" of low-carbon or renewable energy demands.
Efficiency and Conservation
Private initiatives should not rely solely on pressuring TVA to increase its supply of low-carbon or renewable energy. TVA and its local distributors have incentives to shift demand to times when electricity can be produced cheaply, but they cannot be expected to exacerbate a material threat to their finances, so it is unlikely that they will engage in a large and effective household economy. effort.234 A sophisticated large-scale private initiative targeting the most promising opportunities could accelerate TVA's decarbonization by reducing electricity demand.235. Even without a reduction in electricity demand, TVA's carbon footprint in the area could drop significantly if TVA combines decarbonizing electricity generation with electrification, heating and cooling systems, and other household energy uses.
236 Other building electrification could occur through water heaters, heaters and other appliances, along with lawn mowers, leaf blowers and other garden equipment.237 Electrification of water heaters alone could significantly increase electricity demand while reducing carbon emissions, thus the benefits for TVA are significant.238.
Electrification of the Motor Vehicle Fleet
239 Emily Lindsay Brown, Cars of the Future That Will Help Fight Climate Change - Imagine Newsletter #3, THE CONVERSATION (June AM), https://theconversation.com/cars-of-the-future-that-will-help - fight-climate-change-imagine-newsletter-3 -118289. For example, the Nashville City Council passed a bill that would require the municipal government to fully electrify its fleet, with exceptions for some emergency vehicles, in phases over the next decade.242. The growth of the electric vehicle market has also accelerated the development of battery technologies that can alleviate range anxiety and the intermittent supply problems associated with various renewable generation options.2 43 Implementation of battery technologies with two-way communication could also enable more efficient use of other distributed electricity resources. on the web.244 This can create a system that benefits consumers by reducing consumption, providing detailed energy consumption data and increasing comfort.245.
TVA noted in its 10-K that it and its local distributors are likely to be affected by changes in energy use patterns resulting from this integration,24 6 and TVA is working on a vehicle electrification program.247 Not surprisingly, TVA's initiative on this topic includes a roadmap aimed at “defining the path forward for EVs in Tennessee.”248 TVA is evaluating EV adoption strategies related to charging station compatibility for different vehicles, network impact, processes to increase efficiency, and smart charging station development.249 .
A New Private Bargain
TVA will commit to accelerating its power generation transition to bring it in line with the deep decarbonization path, and in return cities, local distribution utilities and major electric customers in TVA's service area will commit to accelerating of electrification of the building and transport sectors. . Even if the federal government and state governments in the Southeast do not take a leading role in climate mitigation, a remarkable number of private actors and instruments of environmental governance are available. TVA is a good example of a hard-to-regulate organization on climate change, but many other organizations in the Southeast, elsewhere in the US, and around the world are just as hard to regulate.
The TVA case study examined in this article is just one example of the important role that private initiatives can play in the global response to climate change.
