June 29, 2007—The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) restarted Unit 1 at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant (PDF file) in Alabama on May 22, completing the first startup of an essentially new nuclear reactor in the United States in 11 years, according to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
Originally started up in 1973, Browns Ferry was shut down in 1985, but in 2002 the TVA Board approved a five-year plan to extensively refurbish and restart the plant at a cost of $1.8 billion. On May 15, TVA received permission from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to restart the reactor, and the utility achieved a self-sustaining nuclear reaction early on May 22.
TVA is currently conducting tests on the reactor and the other plant systems to ensure that safety systems operate correctly. Following these and other tests, the unit will be reconnected to the TVA power system for normal full-power operation.
TVA is also the utility that started the last nuclear reactor before the 11-year dry spell, notes EERE. The Watts Bar 1 nuclear reactor in Tennessee came online in February 1996. Its sister plant, Watts Bar 2, was about 80 percent complete when construction was halted in the early 1990s. TVA is now performing a detailed study to determine if Watts Bar 2 should be completed.
For more information on TVA’s nuclear program (PDF file) or the Watts Bar facility, visit online.
