7 Jun (NucNet): The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Bar-2 nuclear unit near Knoxville in Tennessee has generated electricity onto its power grid for the first time after it was connected to the grid, TVA said.
TVA said reactor operators have begun an initial test run of generation equipment. The team is using this run to collect data to be sure generating equipment is prepared for continuous full-power operation later this summer.
The next step is full-plant testing of systems and controls at increasing reactor power levels up to 100 percent power. TVA said these tests will be repeated multiple times to ensure the plant operates safely as designed. Watts Bar-2 is a 1,165-MW Westinghouse pressurised water reactor.
Once in commercial operation, it will be the first US reactor to start generating power since 1996, when Watts Bar-1 was commissioned.
