The Tennessee Valley Authority has started an envi-ronmental impact study to extend the operating license of its Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant for another 20 years.
The plant near Soddy-Daisy is licensed to operate until 2020 at Unit 1 and until 2021 at Unit 2. TVA wants to extend the current 40-year license until 2040 and 2041, similar to the license extension granted for TVA’s Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Alabama.Nationwide, 59 of the 104 commercial reactors have been granted 20-year license extensions.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering applications for another 18, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute.”Using existing non-air-polluting plants like Sequoyah for an additional 20 years helps us keep electricity costs affordable while being a stew-ard of our environment,” TVA Chief Nuclear Officer Preston Swafford said.
Each of Sequoyah’s two reactors is capable of produc-ing more than 1,160 megawatts. Together, they can generate enough electricity to sup-ply about 1.3 million homes.
The TVA board will decide if license renewal applications will be submitted after the $20 million environmental review is completed.