Southern Alliance for Clean Energy

Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
AbbreviationSACE
Formation1985 (1985)
HeadquartersKnoxville, Tennessee
Board President
E. Leon Jacobs, Jr.
Executive Director
Stephen Smith
E. Leon Jacobs, Jr.; Patricia San Pedro; Enid Sisskin, PhD; John Noel; Gary A. Davis; Bob Freeman; Pearl Walker
Websitehttps://cleanenergy.org/
Formerly called
Tennessee Valley Energy Coalition
Tennessee Valley Energy Reform Coalition

The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) is a nonprofit advocacy group that promotes the use of sustainable energy in the southeastern United States.[1]

History

Beginning in 1979, an informal group of citizens began to question the actions of the Tennessee Valley Authority.[2] By 1985, this had become a formal coalition and the Tennessee Valley Energy Coalition (TVEC) was founded.[3] It later evolved to the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE).[4] TVEC championed for rate-payer protections and tracked the environmental and energy policies of the Tennessee Valley Authority.[5][6] By the late 1980s, the informal group had started to become a full time operation,[7][8][9] and were formally consulted on a number of major TVA initiatives in the late 1980s onwards.[10] This included the management and financing of nuclear power in Tennessee, including the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant.[11] From the mid-1980s onwards, journalists would frequently use TVEC financial analysis to draw summaries on how TVA policies would likely affect the local energy market and taxpayers.[12]

In 1992, TVEC's name changed to Tennessee Valley Energy Reform Coalition (TVERC). In 1993, Stephen A. Smith, SACE's current executive director, became the executive director of TVERC after serving on the board.[13]

Following completion of TVA's 1995 IRP, TVERC shifted its focus to research on air pollution and efforts to clean up or retire coal-fired power plants.[13] In 1997, TVERC worked with the Tennessee Clean Air Task Force.[14] In 1998, TVERC engaged with TVA to launch the Green Power Switch program, giving TVA rate-payers the option to support wind, solar, and biogas renewable resources.[15][16]

In 1999, TVERC was renamed the Southern Alliance For Clean Energy (SACE) as the organization expanded its focus beyond the TVA service area to encompass clean energy efforts with other utility providers in Florida and South Carolina. In 2001, SACE merged with Georgians For Clean Energy, thereby expanding its influence in the Southeast to also include Georgia.[4]

Since 2001, SACE's programs have expanded to address multiple issues relating to energy and the environment, such as increasing solar power programs and the use of clean, electric transportation, reducing reliance on fossil fuel power stations, and addressing climate change.[17]

The ex-TVA Chairman S. David Freeman joined the SACE Board of Advisors in 2020.[18] More recently, SACE Executive Director Stephen A. Smith was quoted in the New York Times stating that the Tennessee Valley Authority needed to shift to clean power more quickly, and that a lack of pressure from Washington wasn't helping the situation.[19]

References

  1. ^ "Home". cleanenergy.org.
  2. ^ Moore, Pat (January 30, 1986). "TVEC Serves as TVA Watchdog". The Knoxville Journal.
  3. ^ Simmons, Laura (October 14, 1984). "TVA Disputes Claim on Nuke Plan Costs". Knoxville News Sentinel.
  4. ^ a b "SACE - About Us - Mission & History". 2004-05-22. Archived from the original on 2004-05-22. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  5. ^ "Our Documents - Tennessee Valley Authority Act (1933)". www.ourdocuments.gov. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  6. ^ "Our History". TVA.com. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  7. ^ Simmons, Laura (September 20, 1987). "Energy Coalition studies issues, tries to speak up for public". Knoxville News Sentinel.
  8. ^ Wann, Libby (October 15, 1988). "Group says coal plant cheaper than restarting Browns Ferry". The Chattanooga Times.
  9. ^ Simmons, Laura (May 5, 1986). "Conservation Head, 2 others endorsed for TVA post". Knoxville News Sentinel.
  10. ^ Willard, Patrick (July 25, 1987). "Energy Group Blasts TVA plan". The Knoxville Journal.
  11. ^ Willard, Patrick (November 9, 1987). "TVA Reactors Inefficient". The Knoxville Journal.
  12. ^ Ferrar, Rebecca (May 5, 1988). "TVA urged to scrap nuke plant, mothball reactors at 2 others". Knoxville News Sentinel.
  13. ^ a b "Ulla-Britt Reeves, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy". Grist. 2000-11-14. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  14. ^ "TVERC - TN Clean Air Task Force Doc 1998". SACE | Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  15. ^ "TVA in the 21st Century ยป Metro Pulse". 2011-06-11. Archived from the original on 2011-06-11. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  16. ^ "Sustainability Report 2020". TVA.com. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  17. ^ Southern Alliance for Clean Energy#cite note-7
  18. ^ Schwartz, John (May 10, 2020). "S. David Freeman, 94, Tireless Advocate for Clean Energy, Dies". New York Times.
  19. ^ "The Agency That Brought Appalachia Electricity Must Focus on the Climate". New York Times. January 27, 2020.
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