The utility’s board voted Thursday to close its Paradise 3 coal plant in western Kentucky by the end of 2020 and to close its Bull Run plant in eastern Tennessee by 2023. The two plants combined employ about 270 people, according to the TVA. “Closing two additional fossil-fuel plants is the right action to take at this time, financially and operationally,” retiring Chief Executive Bill Johnson told the board at its meeting in Chattanooga. He added, “This is not about coal, this is about these assets’ ability to run.” Republican Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin and Republican Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, urged the TVA to reject recommendations to close the Paradise 3 plant. In a tweet earlier this month, President Trump urged the TVA to “give serious consideration to all factors before voting to close viable power plants, like Paradise #3 in Kentucky!” Gary Jones, economic […]