Tennessee Valley Authority
Bellefonte Site
TVA planning studies show that completing Unit 1 at the Bellefonte nuclear site in Hollywood, Ala., is the best choice for adding low-cost, reliable and cleaner baseload generating capacity for the future.
Background
On Aug. 18, 2011, the TVA board of directors approved the completion of Bellefonte Unit 1, a 1,260-megawatt nuclear project near Scottsboro in North Alabama. Consistent with TVA’s Integrated Resource Plan – its energy roadmap – the additional capacity will help meet projected base load power needs by the end of this decade with a fuel source that offers stable prices and supports cleaner air.
Key points
- Completing Unit 1 at Bellefonte will help TVA achieve its vision for supplying cleaner, competitively priced electricity in the decades ahead. When completed, Unit 1 will produce enough electricity to power about 750,000 homes.
- Now 55 percent complete, Bellefonte Unit 1 will use $1.9 billion of steel, concrete and other infrastructure that is already at the site.
- The modernized facility will have the latest equipment and technology to meet the latest safety standards and regulations. Bellefonte Unit 1 will be among the safest, most advanced nuclear power plants in the country.
- Safety is the overriding priority of TVA’s nuclear program.
Additional background
- Bellefonte construction will start after the design phase is completed in one to two years from project approval and after Watts Bar 2 completes its first fuel load. TVA constructs one project at a time, always with safety and quality as the top priorities.
- Lessons learned from the Japanese nuclear plant that was disabled by a tsunami and earthquake in 2011 will be incorporated on the front end of Bellefonte design and construction.
- The project will complete Unit 1 using new equipment, including steam generators, a modern control room and state-of-the-art digital instruments, and refurbishing any remaining components to like new condition.
- The project will create about 2,800 construction jobs and 650 permanent jobs.
- The projected cost to complete Unit 1 is $4.9 billion.
- Construction permits were issued in 1974 to build two pressurized-water reactors, Units 1 and 2. Work was suspended in 1988 in response to declining growth in power demand. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved TVA’s request to reinstate the construction permits in 2009.
Aug 2011