TVA restarts Brown Ferry 1

23 May 2007

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has restarted Unit 1 of the Browns Ferry nuclear power plant near Athens, Alabama, USA. The 1155 MWe reactor was restarted on 21 May, with criticality being reached early on 22 May. Power in the unit will gradually be increased over the next few days and the secondary plant systems will be tested. TVA will continue to conduct tests on the reactor and other plant systems over the next several weeks before it is reconnected to the grid. The refurbishment and restart project was completed within the five-year plan approved by the TVA board in May 2002 and at the estimated cost of some $1.8 billion. The company said it completed more than 4 million work hours preparing the engineering and design and more than 15 million work hours modifying, replacing, and refurbishing systems and components to return Browns Ferry 1 to service. TVA received permission to restart the reactor from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on 15 May. TVA shut down all three Browns Ferry reactors in 1985 to address management and operational concerns. After upgrades and modifications, Browns Ferry units 2 and 3 were returned to service in 1991 and 1995 respectively.

Further information

Tennessee Valley Authority

WNA's US Nuclear Power Industry information paper

WNN: NRC approves restart of Browns Ferry 1
WNN: TVA uprate returning reactor and consider more

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