The Tennessee Valley Authority's Browns Ferry Nuclear Station near Athens, Ala.
The spent fuel rod pool for the Unit 1 reactor is shown at the Browns Ferry nuclear plant in Athens, Ala.TVA's oldest nuclear reactor resumed power generation today after successfully completing a refueling and maintenance outage.
The Unit 1 reactor at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant returned to service at 8:16 p.m. CDT on Wednesday. Plant operators will be raising power over the next several days until the unit once again achieves full power.
"The Browns Ferry team worked hard to refuel and prepare Unit 1 for the next two-year cycle of generating safe, reliable and carbon-free electricity for those we serve across the Tennessee Valley," said Browns Ferry Site Vice President Keith Polson.
"The team's performance during this outage demonstrates their continued commitment to fulfilling a top TVA priority for all three of our units - achieving sustained operational excellence."
During the Unit 1 outage, more than 11,000 work activities were completed, including the installation of 308 new fuel assemblies in the reactor core.
In addition to refueling activities, the team installed brand-new pump motors on a key reactor safety system, marking the end of a multi-year initiative to replace every pump motor on two safety systems for all three units - 24 motors in all. The team also installed modifications that support Browns Ferry's move to a new, risk-based fire protection system.
Both activities help TVA fulfill its commitment to the safe and reliable operation of all its nuclear units. More than 850 supplemental nuclear workers joined the Browns Ferry team to complete this outage work.
Unit 1 is one of three reactors in operation at Browns Ferry, which together generate more than 3,300 megawatts of electricity -- about 14 percent of TVA's total power output.
Read more in tomorrow's Times Free Press.