CEC July Tour - TVA Racoon Mountain Pumped-Storage Plant (limited to 18!)
Monday, July 25, 2022 at noon
Hosts:
Tommy Bonds, Manager Plant Hydro Operations
Shannon Bynum, Manager Plant Hydro Maintenance
Address (accurate for Google Maps; other mapping apps may route to a different location or to the visitor center):
2510 Raccoon Mountain Road
Chattanooga, TN 37410
Directions from Chattanooga:
I24W to exit 174
Turn right off exit 174 and proceed 2.5 miles to the TVA Raccoon Mountain sign
Turn right at the sign and proceed 2.5 miles to office building alongside the river
- Long pants and closed toe shoes are required
- TVA will provide required personnel protective equipment (hard hat, safety glasses, hearing protection)
- Tour inside the plant will require a great deal of walking to include stairs, open grating floors, and unlevel surfaces. If you cannot safely travel up and down the stairs the tour will be limited to the discussion prior to the walking tour.
The Raccoon Mountain project is TVA’s largest hydroelectric facility. Water is pumped to the reservoir on top of the mountain and then used to generate electricity when additional power is needed by the TVA system. Raccoon Mountain Pumped-Storage Plant is located in southeast Tennessee on a site that overlooks the Tennessee River near Chattanooga.
The plant works like a large storage battery. During periods of low demand, water is pumped from Nickajack Reservoir at the base of the mountain to the reservoir built at the top. It takes 28 hours to fill the upper reservoir. When demand is high, water is released via a tunnel drilled through the center of the mountain to drive generators in the mountain’s underground power plant.
The area around Raccoon Mountain is a state-designated Wildlife Observation Area. The mountaintop is home to whitetail deer, woodchucks, gray foxes and, of course, raccoons. The most compelling wildlife attraction of the area is a large wintering population of bald eagles, which can be sighted from the overlook as they hunt in the woods and waters.
The adjacent day-use area offers more than 28 miles of mountain biking trails—with names like Live Wire, Megawatt, Switch Yard and High Voltage—for riders of all abilities, as well as a bike-washing station. The trails are open to hikers as well.
This event will qualify for 1 PDH. No PDH charge for CEC members; $10 PDH charge for non-CEC members (however the PDH cost can be applied to membership!)