The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has voted to issue a full power operating license for Watts Bar Unit 2, pending applicable regulatory requirements being met.
The Watts Bar plant near Spring City is being built under a construction initially issued by the NRC in the 1970s. But the operating permit from federal regulators, if approved later this year by the NRC staff, would be the first for any new commercial nuclear reactor in the United States since the first unit at the Watts Bar plant was licensed in 1996.
"The commission's action was a critical regulatory step necessary to keep Watts Bar Unit 2 on track to become the nation's first new nuclear generation of the 21st century," TVA's Chief Nuclear Officer Joe Grimes said in a statement today. "The delegation of this authority signifies confidence that NRC inspections show Watts Bar Unit 2 is being built according to rigorous regulatory requirements and industry standards."
The issuance of the NRC's Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM) delegates authority to issue the Watts Bar Unit 2 operating license to the part of the oversight agency that monitors and inspects the work that's been done and notes requirements TVA must meet before the license can be issued.
TVA is scheduled to test the equipment in the Unit 2 reactor during hot functional testing during June. TVA expects to begin power generation at the Watts Bar Unit 2 by the end of this year.
"We have a responsibility to complete Watts Bar Unit 2 the right way -- safely and with quality -- and that's what we're doing," said Mike Skaggs, TVA's vice president in charge of Watts Bar operations and construction. "The Watts Bar team has made tremendous progress getting us to this point and is focused on the work and challenges ahead to successfully complete, test, and license Unit 2 and to integrate the unit into TVA's nuclear fleet."