Southeast

Tennessee

Tennessee's greenhouse gas emissions have dropped by 8% from 1990-2021, largely due to a shift in electricity supply away from coal. Almost all of Tennessee's utility-scale power plants are owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority, the largest government-owned electricity provider in the nation. Nearly half of the state’s electricity is powered by two nuclear facilities, with the rest sourced from natural gas, coal, and renewables.
Governor
Bill Lee (Republican)
House Party
Republican Supermajority
Senate Party
Republican Supermajority
Legislative session
1/9/24 - 4/25/24

5

Policies Enacted or In Progress
across 2 policy areas

57

Policy Opportunities
across 7 policy areas

Southeast

14 states
This map shows the occurrence of climate policies passed at the state-level. Higher numbers represent more climate policies enacted.

Progress by Policy Area

  • Enacted
  • In-progress
  • Partially Enacted
  • Not Enacted
Glossary of Terms
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Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections in Tennessee

Created in partnership with
Filters
Status Policy Policy Area Policy Category YR Enacted
Not Enacted
Empty column

Clean energy standards and renewable portfolio standards set a target for a specific amount of clean or renewable electricity the state must generate by a certain year, often with incremental targets over time.

Electricity
Energy Plans and Targets
Not Enacted
Empty column

Clean energy plans are documents that outline the policies and strategies states can implement to meet clean energy targets. Draft plans are often published first, and after a period of public comments and revisions, a final plan is released.

Electricity
Energy Plans and Targets
Not Enacted
Empty column

Electricity greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets are set by a state to limit GHG emissions in the electricity sector. These targets aim to reduce emissions by different amounts over time, often expressed as percentage relative to a baseline year.

Electricity
Energy Plans and Targets
Not Enacted
Empty column

Community choice aggregation allows local governments to procure power on behalf of their residents, businesses, and municipal accounts from an alternative supplier while still receiving transmission and distribution service from their existing utility provider.

Electricity
Clean Energy Generation
Not Enacted
Empty column

The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.

Policy Components
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0/5
Electricity
Clean Energy Generation
Not Enacted
Empty column

The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.

Policy Components
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0/11
Electricity
Clean Energy Generation
Partially Enacted
Empty column

The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.

Policy Components
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1/6
Electricity
Clean Energy Generation
Not Enacted
Empty column

Energy storage targets establish procurement targets for energy storage systems by a certain date, often with interim targets. Targets can vary from broad megawatt (MW) requirements to more specific mandates that focus on the adoption of certain storage technologies.

Electricity
Transmission, Distribution, and Energy Storage
Not Enacted
Empty column

Tennessee received an F grade from Freeing the Grid.

Electricity
Transmission, Distribution, and Energy Storage
Not Enacted
Empty column

Coal phaseouts establish a target year by which states must end coal-fired power generation.

Electricity
Coal Retirement
Not Enacted
Empty column

Coal securitization is a financing tool that allows utility companies to refinance debt they issued to build coal plants and close the facilities early without taking a financial hit or passing costs on to ratepayers.

Electricity
Coal Retirement

The State Climate Policy Dashboard tracks only passed policies and does not include bills currently proposed in legislative sessions. The website is intended to illustrate the current status of policies for each state, as well as key resources and model states for each policy.

Much of the information contained in this database is derived from the public domain, with links to resources provided. The information provided is made available solely for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Click here for full Terms of Use.

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