Bellefonte work continues

By Ken Bonner
The Daily Sentinel
Published August 21, 2010

The TVA Board of Directors Friday unanimously approved $248 million to continue work at its Bellefonte Nuclear Plant in Hollywood.

The utility is pursuing completion of an unfinished 1,200 megawatt Babcock and Wilcox pressurized-water reactor unit at the site. Construction first began on two units in 1974 and was halted in 1988 due to a declining growth in power demand.

"We know we need more base-load power if we're going to idle coal-fired plants," TVA President and CEO Tom Kilgore said. "We need (to begin) construction at Bellefonte. I believe we should move forward aggressively."

Kilgore said TVA would not make a final decision on completing the plant until sometime in 2011. He said the utility did need to continue to invest in the project in order to reduce the project risk and preserve its completion option within the expected timeframe. Utility projections are that the region will need the additional power provided by the proposed reactor by 2018.

The 2011 fiscal year investment will fund initial engineering, design and staffing requirements; provide for continued regulatory framework development; allow for long lead item procurement including plant simulators which support needed training; and continue asset preservation and facilities preservation. Part of the funds will used to construct and upgrade infrastructure needs such as roads, parking lots and lighting at the facility.

TVA is in the process of completing a reactor at its Watts Bar plant near Spring City, Tenn. Approximately 3,000 people are currently employed during the construction phase.

"We believe we will be able to produce power for less than five cents per kilowatt hour when it goes online," Kilgore said in presenting his report to the board. It is anticipated that Watts Bar will become operational in 2013.

After completion of a detailed project analysis we "now want to enter the initial engineering phase. Bellefonte Unit 1 is the preferred technology," TVA vice president of Nuclear Generation, Development and Construction Asok Bhatanger said.

Bhatanger said after extensive studies in five separate areas including an evaluation of the risk assessment between completion of Unit 1 and a new technology AP1000 Westinghouse reactor that "scheduling and cost make Unit 1 the right choice."

A number of people spoke for and against TVA's proposal to complete Bellefonte's B&W reactor.

Part of TVA's problems have been that it has placed "overconfidence in nuclear energy," Steven Smith, Executive Director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy said. "It smacks of a nuclear arrogance that has led to problems. There is no hurry here (Bellefonte). I encourage caution.

"I feel very strongly," he continued. "There is trouble with overconfidence in nuclear reactor design. A B&W reactor has never been licensed in the U.S."

"TVA wants to be the nations leader in providing low cost, clean energy by 2020," Kilgore said. "TVA wants to be the nation's leader in nuclear energy. We want to lead the nation in the creation of new nuclear power."

Several local business and governmental leaders spoke in favor of Bellefonte during a one hour and 25 minute public listening session prior to the start of the two-hour board meeting including: Dus Rogers, President and CEO of the Jackson County Economic Development Authority; Jimmy Sandlin, Chairman of the Scottsboro Electric Power Board; Rudder Williams, a member of the JCEDA; Rick Roden, President and CEO of the Greater Jackson County Chamber of Commerce; and Scottsboro Mayor Melton Potter.

"Our welcome mat is out," Potter said. "I represent the elected officials in Jackson County. We stand ready to help TVA provide low cost electricity."

Each speaker was allowed four minutes to address the board.

"The JCEDA heartily endorses TVA's efforts to complete Unit 1 at Bellefonte. We hope you will move forward in completing it as soon as possible," Rogers said in citing the economic impact on Jackson County.

"TVA should adopt a true emission free policy. It should be coal free and carbon free," Don Safer of the Tennessee Environmental Council said. "Please stop spending money on Bellefonte.

"We have no place to put high level nuclear waste. There is no high-level nuclear repository in the world, he added. "Clean energy would be a gift to future generations."

"Jackson County is ready to say yes to Bellefonte and the future of TVA," Roden said. He described the area as the "connecting artery for high-powered economies in Huntsville and Chattanooga," and suggested that completion of the nuclear power generating plant is the right choice for TVA and the region.

Dr. David Campbell, President of Northeast Alabama Community College and Chairman of the JCEDA Board of Directors said the school is ready to provide assistance, education and training that TVA will need to complete and operate Bellefonte.

"We are delighted that the TVA Board is taking steps to complete Bellefonte," Campbell said. "The people of our area are very capable and we can provide workers on whom TVA can depend."

"We can idle coal plants only because we are adding nuclear," Kilgore said of the utilities vision for the future. "This is about low cost, clean energy. That's (completing Bellefonte) what we need to do to help us meet our mission."

We are excited at the job opportunities that are coming to the area. We appreciate the trust TVA has placed on our community and our area,Bergman said. We are glad things are changing for the better.

It's a great day for Scottsboro and Jackson County,Ivey said. This is not a normal industry as one would think of it but it will bring good paying jobs in and people in to train, which will have a huge economic impact. We believe it should help create further retail and commercial development in the area.