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Haney outlines plans to finish idled nuclear plant in 5-6 years

The cooling towers are visible from the roof at the unfinished Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant in Hollywood, Ala. Developer Franklin L. Haney plans to complete his $111 million purchase of the plant in November. He intends to hire a Canadian engineering firm to finish the construction. (Staff file photo) The cooling towers are visible from the roof at the unfinished Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant in Hollywood, Ala. Developer Franklin L. Haney plans to complete his $111 million purchase of the plant in November. He intends to hire a Canadian engineering firm to finish the construction. (Staff file photo)

By Dave Flessner July 30, 2018 8 min read

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Haney nuclear plant

Bill McCollum with Nuclear Development LLC speaks during a briefing at the Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant Monday, July 30, 2018 in Hollywood, Alabama. SNC-Lavalin and Nuclear Development LLC briefed local officials and industry partners on a proposed plan to proceed with the completion of Bellefonte Nuclear Plant.

Alabama Congressman Mo Brooks speaks during a briefing at the Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant Monday, July 30, 2018 in Hollywood, Alabama. In November 2016, Nuclear Development successfully bid at auction to buy Bellefonte from the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Second from left, Franklin L. Haney, owner of Nuclear Development LLC, listens to speakers during a briefing at the Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant Monday, July 30, 2018 in Hollywood, Alabama. In November 2016, Nuclear Development successfully bid at auction to buy Bellefonte from the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Bud Cramer, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives of Alabama's 5th congressional district, speaks to press following a briefing at the Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant Monday, July 30, 2018 in Hollywood, Alabama. In November 2016, Nuclear Development LLC successfully bid at auction to buy Bellefonte from the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Shelia Shepard, president of the Jackson County Economic Development Authority, opens up a briefing at the Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant Monday, July 30, 2018 in Hollywood, Alabama. In the mid 1970s, TVA began construction of the two Bellefonte nuclear units, but the project was suspended in 1988, restarted in 2011 and then discontinued in 2014.

Preston Swafford, chief nuclear officer at SNC-Lavalin, speaks with press following a briefing at the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant Monday, July 30, 2018 in Hollywood, Alabama. In June, SNC-Lavalin was selected to manage the completion of the Bellefonte construction project, which will create thousands of construction jobs and more permanent jobs in the plant over the next decade.

Rick Roden, president of the Greater Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, speaking about the local impact in Jackson County of the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant Monday, July 30, 2018 following a briefing at the nuclear plant in Hollywood, Alabama. The completion of the Bellefonte facility is expected to bring thousands of construction jobs as well as many more permanent jobs over the next decade.

John Wygal gives a tour around Bellefonte Nuclear Plant Monday, July 30, 2018 in Hollywood, Alabama. Completing the Bellefonte plant, which began in 1975 and was halted in 1988, is projected to create several thousand jobs and approximately 1,500 permanent jobs over the next decade.

David Wayne, a technician, talks about different aspects of the control room at the Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant Monday, July 30, 2018 in Hollywood, Alabama. Nuclear Development has been working to resume the construction of the partially-completed Bellefonte facility upon completion of Nuclear Development's acquisition of Bellefonte.

John Wygal talks about control rods as he gives a tour around Bellefonte Nuclear Plant Monday, July 30, 2018 in Hollywood, Alabama. Completing the Bellefonte plant, which began in 1975 and was halted in 1988, is projected to create several thousand jobs and approximately 1,500 permanent jobs over the next decade.

Bellefonte Nuclear Plant is pictured Monday, July 30, 2018 in Hollywood, Alabama. Nuclear Development LLC successfully bid $111 million for the Bellefonte site, with its two partially-built pressurized water reactors plus infrastructure, including switchyards, office buildings, warehouses, cooling towers, water pumping stations and railroad spurs.

A group tours the reactor containment building at Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant Monday, July 30, 2018 in Hollywood, Alabama. Completing the Bellefonte plant, which began in 1975 and was halted in 1988, is projected to create several thousand jobs and approximately 1,500 permanent jobs over the next decade.

Bellefonte at a glance

Plant design: Twin Babcock & Wilcox pressured water reactors each capable of generating about 1,200 megawatts of electricityLocation: 1,300-acre site on the Tennessee River in Hollywood, AlabamaOriginal developer: The Tennessee Valley Authority began construction in 1975Plant buyer: Nuclear Development LLC, owned by developer Franklin L. HaneyInvestment: TVA spent more than $4 billion. Haney was the top bidder in November 2016 to buy Bellefonte and its site for $111 million. The sale is to be completed by November 2018.Economic impact: University of Alabama estimates the plant would have an economic impact of $12.6 billion over time. Bellefonte would employ thousands of workers during its construction and directly employ 1,040 workers at the plant with an average annual pay of $136,000 and support another 3,136 indirect jobs with an average pay of $52,000 a year.Building contractors: SNC Lavalin of Montreal, Canada, which has negotiated agreements with nearly two dozen engineering, design and construction companies to complete Bellefonte.Sources: Nuclear Development LLC, TVA, SNC Lavalin

As a young adult fishing on Guntersville Lake in Northeast Alabama, U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., recalls the thousands of workers employed building the Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant and its giant twin cooling towers that tower over the lakefront skyline.

Most of those workers left when construction was halted three decades ago when the Tennessee Valley Authority determined it no longer needed the extra power that Bellefonte could produce. After a series of starts and stops and more than $4 billion of investment, TVA ultimately gave up two years ago on one of America’s biggest unfinished construction projects.

“Those cooling towers have become a landmark in this area of the country, and every time you see it you think of the billions and billions of dollars that have been spent getting this facility to where it is and yet there has not been a single watt of electricity generated,” Brooks lamented Monday while visiting the unfinished nuclear plant.

But Brooks and other Alabama officials are hopeful that may soon change, thanks to a private sector effort to buy and revive Bellefonte with the aid of federal assistance and loan guarantees. If successful, local officials said, Bellefonte could reshape the economy of Jackson County and give a boost to the entire tri-state region, including Chattanooga, by adding thousands of new jobs.