TVA approves completion of Bellefonte

Tom Kilgore, TVA CEO

In a unanimous vote on August 18, the board of directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) voted to finish construction of the Bellefonte nuclear reactor located in northeast Alabama. The vote followed a three-hour meeting that heard from 50 people. TVA chief executive officer Tom Kilgore said that completing the project is the right move for the utility's nine million rate payers. It will provide needed electricity to the region without adding to carbon emissions.

"With today's action, TVA will add more clean energy from nuclear sources to its generating fleet," Kilgore said. He added that the decision implements a key element of the utility's Integrated Resource Plan.

In response to comments from about 50 people during the meeting, Kilgore said that the board has been fully engaged in understanding safety issues related to the events that took place in Fukushima, Japan, last March.

"As we build Bellefonte we will integrate safety modifications from an extensive review of the lessons learned from Fukushima. Making Bellefonte a productive asset, with state of the art equipment, will add to TVA's generating mix."

The Bellefonte plant is one of two reactors started in the 1980s, but which were never completed due to low electricity demand. Much of the original equipment was subsequently removed from the plant. New pumps, pipes, and a digital control room are on tap for the completion of the project.

The construction phase of the project, which will begin after TVA completes the Watts Bar-2 reactor in 2013, will generate about 2,800 jobs and 650 permanent positions. It is expected to enter revenue service by 2020.

How TVA will pay for Bellefonte

In a press conference following the board meeting, John Thomas, TVA's chief financial officer, said that TVA will raise the funds to pay for completing Bellefonte without busting through the utility's debt ceiling. Instead of issuing bonds for the estimated $4.9 billion in costs, TVA will finance it by leasing two power stations that will be completed by 2013. The first is the Watts Bar-2 reactor and the other is a gas-fired plant.

Thomas said that the way the deal will work is that investors who buy Watts Bar will then lease it back to TVA. Thomas added that the lease-back arrangement will be cheaper for rate payers than having to cover the cost of interest on bonds.

Another financial measure is that TVA will not begin the construction phase at Bellefonte until the Watts Bar plant is completed in 2013. This way, TVA will have only one nuclear reactor under construction at a time. Board member Mike Duncan and CEO Tom Kilgore made the case to the board that this approach would prevent distractions and keep the utility fully focused on both projects with enough time to deal with both of them.

No zombies please

Opponents of the decisions included environmental groups who called the Bellefonte project a "zombie reactor" and paraded outside the meeting dressed up in theatrical makeup. The utility banned anyone wearing these costumes from entering the hearing room to avoid disruptions.

Don Safer, who was not dressed as a zombie, and represented the Tennessee Environmental Council, testified before the board. He ticked off a list of consequences if there was ever an accident at the reactor. Other speakers accused the board of lying about the safety measures that would be imposed on plant operations.

On the pro-nuclear side,  Doug Walters, vice president for regulatory affairs at the Nuclear Energy Institute, told the TVA board that the all new components Bellefonte will be one of the nation's "most advanced reactors."

Bellefonte in color  (courtesy Popatomic Studios)

The anticipated completion of Bellefonte has even inspired artists. Suzy Hobbs, a painter and sculptor who has followed the issue, said that she'd like to see TVA paint the cooling towers and offered an artist's rendition (right) of how they would look.

Bellefonte timeline

1974-Bellefonte construction permit issued and building begins

1985-TVA defers construction of Unit 2, then about 58 percent complete

1988-TVA defers construction of Unit 1, then about 90 percent complete

1996-TVA studies option of converting plant to combined-cycle, natural gas

2004-TVA joins NuStart consortium to pursue new plant design for Bellefonte site

2005-TVA cancels construction of Units 1 and 2 and asks Nuclear Regulatory Commission to withdraw construction permits

2005-NuStart picks Bellefonte as site for Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear plant

2007-TVA submits combined construction and operating license application developed under NuStart for two AP1000 reactors

2009-NRC reinstates construction permits for Units 1 and 2 to preserve option to complete them

2010-TVA board of directors authorizes additional engineering, design and licensing activities, and procurement of long lead-time components for Unit 1

2011-TVA board approves completion of Unit 1 as a 1,260-megawatt Babcock & Wilcox pressurized water reactor

Source: TVA

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Yurman

Dan Yurman publishes Idaho Samizdat, a blog about nuclear energy, and is a frequent contributor to ANS Nuclear Cafe