March 14, 2026 - The Tennessee Valley Authority, which provides power to 10 million people across Alabama and six other states, will spend more than $2 billion on coal ash costs from 2026 to 2030, according to a report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

“The CCR expenditures referenced in TVA’s 10-K (report) reflect compliance with federal and state regulations,” said Scott Fiedler, a spokesperson for TVA, in an email.

In its annual report to the SEC, TVA listed its estimated costs for the next four years for complying with environmental regulations. TVA has a dozen operating or closed fossil fuel plants, according to their website, including Colbert Fossil Plant and Widows Creek Fossil Plant in Alabama.

This year, TVA estimates spending $337 million on coal ash. That’s more than twice what it estimates spending on Clean Air Act requirements ($114 million) and nearly four times what it estimates spending on Clean Water Act requirements in 2026.

In total, from 2026 to 2030, TVA estimates that it will spend $2.085 billion on its coal ash program.

Historically, coal ash—what’s left after coal is burned for energy—was stored in unlined ponds adjacent to power plants, often near bodies of water. Coal ash contains heavy metals, such as arsenic, cadmium, and beryllium, and can be very dangerous to human health.

In the last two decades, concern about coal ash contamination has become more prominent, since the Kingston coal ash spill in 2008. After a dike failure, 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash spilled into the Emory River watershed in Tennessee.

TVA owns the Kingston Fossil Plant, and spent more than $1.1 billion on cleanup. Hundreds of workers later became sick in the following years due to the cleanup.

But TVA said it has worked hard to regain the trust of the public since the spill. The utility, which is the country’s largest public utility, is a leader in coal ash remediation, it said in a statement.

“TVA is an industry leader in safe, innovative coal ash management,” Fiedler said, “implementing best practices years before they were required by the 2015 coal ash rule and continuing to pioneer new technology to ensure our coal ash sites are protective of the environment and human health.”

It is unclear how much of TVA’s coal ash spending will be directed to its two plants in Alabama. Fiedler said the utility does not report information beyond what is in the annual report.

The Widows Creek Fossil Plant closed in 2015. It is home to four coal ash ponds that were closed and capped in 2018, and two additional coal ash disposal sites. Last year, the environmental advocacy group Earthjustice said the Widows Creek site could potentially be “the dirtiest in the nation.” Approximately 21 million cubic yards of coal ash are on site, according to Earthjustice.

Widows Creek lies along the Tennessee River, upstream of the Guntersville Reservoir. It is also home to a Google data center, and could potentially be home to a massive hydropower plant.

Colbert Fossil Plant in Tuscumbia closed in 2016. Its coal ash pond has been closed and capped since 2018. It contains 2.6 million cubic yards of coal ash, according to TVA.

TVA will pay around twice as much to remediate coal ash in their multistate service area as Alabama Power, the other major electricity provider in the state. In its report to the Public Service Commission, Alabama Power estimated it would spend $1.1 billion on coal ash from 2026 to 2030.

In 2026 alone, Alabama Power estimates it will spend $259 million on coal ash across its six coal ash sites.

The costliest coal ash site in Alabama Power’s purview is the Barry Electric Generating Plant north of Mobile. The utility estimates spending $91 million in 2026 on the coal ash at Plant Barry, and $433 million from 2026 to 2030.

Most coal ash currently produced by both utilities is recycled. Alabama Power recycles 95% of the coal ash and gypsum produced from electricity generation, according to Alyson Tucker, a spokesperson for the utility.

In 2024, TVA recycled 72% of the coal ash materials generated by its plants, according to Scott Brooks, a spokesperson with TVA.

Both utilities sell the coal ash for, among other things, gypsum wallboard and concrete.

In addition to Alabama Power’s and TVA’s coal ash sites, PowerSouth Energy Cooperative has a coal ash site at its Lowman Power Plant in Leroy. Lowman transitioned to a natural gas plant around 2020 because coal ash management became too difficult, according to CEO Gary Smith.