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Wind power in Tennessee, which has significant potential in East Tennessee, is in the early stages of development. As of 2015, the state had not passed renewable portfolio standard legislation and there was one utility-scale wind farm. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), based in Knoxville, imports wind-generated electricity into its service area which includes Tennessee. US Senator Lamar Alexander from Tennessee is an outspoken critic of wind power.
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Buffalo Mountain
Located north of Oak Ridge and Oliver Springs and east of Frozen Head State Park in about thirty miles northwest of Knoxville, Buffalo Mountain Windfarm was built in 2000 by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) which operates three wind turbines with a combined generation capacity of 2 MW. It purchases the output of 15 additional wind turbines built in 2004 and owned by Invenergy that have a combined capacity of 27 MW.
TVA import
The Tennessee Valley Authority service area covers most of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small sectionss of Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia. As of 2013, the agency had power purchased agreements with wind farms outside its service area:
A 2010 agreement with Iberdrola Renewables provides a potential 300MW future supply from Streator-Cayuga Ridge Wind Farm, Livingston County, Illinois
Clean Line Energy transmission
Clean Line Energy LLC is proposing 700-mile power transmission line to bring wind energy from Oklahoma and to the Tennessee Valley. The TVA would import 1,750 megawatts, about half of the power that could be transmitted. Developers began in 2007 to seek regulatory approval for the $2 billion project, but the approvals needed to start construction aren't expected to be in place until at least 2020. The project faces opposition, particularly in Arkansas.