Press Mention The News-Sentinel January 26, 2002
SACE Quoted
Brown's Ferry decision may come by midyear
In this mention
The Tennessee Valley Authority may decide by mid-2002 whether to restart the idle Unit 1 reactor at Browns Ferry nuclear plant in Alabama. Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, argues that TVA should prioritize energy conservation rather than nuclear expansion to meet regional power needs.
The North Alabama and lower Tennessee region wouldn't need another nuclear plant if TVA did a better job of promoting energy conservation
Stephen A. Smith
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Brown's Ferry decision may come by midyear
By The Associated Press
MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. – The Tennessee Valley Authority may decide whether to restart an idle Browns Ferry nuclear reactor by midyear.
TVA studies of the project to fire up the idle Unit 1 reactor are nearing completion, and board members would vote on it soon afterward, said TVA director Glenn McCullough Jr.
"We could be ready to make a decision by mid-'02," McCullough told the TimesDaily of Florence, Ala., after the TVA board's meeting Tuesday in Muscle Shoals.
TVA is evaluating environmental impacts, demand for power in the region and costs before holding a vote.
The Unit 1 reactor hasn't produced electricity for more than 15 years, and it cost an estimated $1.4 billion to become fully operational.
TVA could enter into a public-private partnership with investors to raise money, McCullough said. Investors have proposed loaning money to TVA in exchange for later profits from reactor-electricity sales.
But money worries won't become serious unless the TVA board approves the project, McCullough said.
"We don't have anything to finance today," he said.
TVA voluntarily shut down the reactor in March 1985 because of safety concerns. Units 2 and 3 at Browns Ferry also stopped in 1985 but were restarted in 1991 and 1995 after major renovations.
Critics say TVA would have to raise power rates in order to pay for the project.
The North Alabama and lower Tennessee region wouldn't need another nuclear plant if TVA did a better job of promoting energy conservation, said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy in Knoxville.
But others say restarting the reactor could create more than 2,500 jobs over five years. Officials say about 200 workers would be retained full time if the plant became operational.
TVA wants to ensure the region has enough power for expected growth. The Unit 1 reactor could provide enough electricity for 200,000 homes when running at capacity.
An environmental impact study should be completed in March, officials said.
TVA, the nation's largest public power producer, provides electricity to about 8.3 million in Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama and Mississippi.