TVA hosts open house, ribbon cutting
The Daily Sentinel
Published December 14, 2010
Tennessee Valley Authority officials hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house at its In-process and Training Center Monday.
The nuclear training center has served approximately 970 students since it opened in the Jackson County Industrial Park at Hollywood in September. The workers were processed through the facility to prepare for a planned outage at Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant near Athens.
A second round of training will be conducted beginning in Jan. 2011 to prepare for outages at TVA's Watts Bar and Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plants. As many as 3,000 workers are expected to use the facility during the first five months of the year.
"It's a flagship in the industry," George Laurie, manager of the facility said. After completion of necessary training at the center workers "can safely work at a nuclear facility. It allows us to offer standardized and site-specific training. It was built for the craftsmen. I'm real proud for the workers and proud of TVA for taking this step."
TVA officials and local governmental, civic and businesses leaders attended the ceremony. Many toured the facility after the ribbon cutting.
The facility provides a small number of permanent jobs. A larger group of TVA trainers are on site when class is in session to provide orientation and training for new employees and supplemental workers before they report to work at TVA nuclear plants or in its corporate offices. As many as 5,000 workers can be trained at the facility annually.
TVA purchased the building on April 20, 2010. Its total investment in purchasing, renovating and furnishing the structure is between $5-$8 million. The facility, completed for speculative purposes in 2006, was built and owned by the Scottsboro Industrial Development Board.
"There are two main reasons TVA purchased this building," Goodrich "Dus" Rogers, President and CEO of the Jackson County Economic Development Authority said. "The building was ready and available and the site was considered an Advantage Site in that all due diligence, including environmental studies had been completed and prepared."
Preston Swafford, TVA's Chief Nuclear Officer agreed with Rogers.
"The shell (building) was a big factor," Swafford said of the utility's decision to locate in Hollywood. "It's kind of a centrally located facility between our nuclear plants. This popped up as a great location. It was a no-brainer."
TVA made renovations to the building's exterior and completed the interior to accommodate its needs. A second floor will be added to the structure sometime later this year to allow for installation of maintenance labs and training.
"This provides a uniform approach to training," Swafford said. "It helps us ensure that quality craftsmen are working at our nuclear facilities."
Developers representing TVA first visited the building on Feb. 4, 2010, according to Rogers.
"We did not know it was TVA for a while," Rogers said. "When they decided they wanted the building it moved pretty fast."
"This is the result of a team effort," Roger said in praising the work of the EDA, Scottsboro Industrial Development Board, the city of Scottsboro, state and federal legislators and local utility companies in helping develop the industrial park and its infrastructure. "This is a unique use of this building. We expected it would be used by an industry or as warehouse space."
TVA is looking at the possibility of developing a central warehousing facility for its three nuclear power plants, according to Swafford.
"It is in the early stages," he said of the plan. "We have talked with you and it is possible it could be located here." Swafford mentioned a 60,000 square foot building owned by the county that is located in the park and said it "might be in play."
TVA's training center is located on 13.5 acres at the intersection of U.S. Highway 72 and County Road 33. It will be powered in part from renewable sources as part of the utility's Green Power Switch program. The utility is seeking Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification for the facility. Once fully completed the site will include electric vehicle charging stations, dedicated parking for alternative fuel vehicles, and water efficient landscaping and plumbing.