After generating more than 18 billion kilowatt hours of carbon-free electricity from more than 650 days of continuous operation, TVA shut down its newest reactor at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant over the weekend for a scheduled refueling and maintenance outage.
The federal utility is bringing in an extra 1,500 TVA and contract employees to refuel and do maintenance work in the next few weeks at the Unit 3 reactor at Browns Ferry.
"Outages like this are our best opportunity to prepare Unit 3 to continue to generate reliable, low-cost electricity for the next 24 months so we can better serve the people of the Tennessee Valley," Browns Ferry Site Vice President Steve Bono said. "Beyond loading new fuel, we also do the maintenance and upgrades on plant equipment that help ensure Unit 3 operates safely and dependably in the coming months."
TVA plans 15,500 work activities during the outage and will install upgraded equipment that supports a planned extended power uprate for all three units that will add 465 megawatts of generating capability, enabling the site to serve an additional 280,000 homes in the Tennessee Valley.
Browns Ferry Unit 3 is one of six operational TVA nuclear reactors that collectively supply nearly one-third of all electricity used by more than 9 million people across the Tennessee Valley. A seventh reactor, Watts Bar Unit 2, recently completed construction and fuel load, and is continuing a series of tests to ensure operational readiness.