16 May (NucNet): The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has authorised the restart of unit one of the Browns Ferry nuclear power plant in Alabama, which has been shut down since 1985 to address performance and management issues.
The NRC said yesterday that Browns Ferry operator the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) had completed an extensive refurbishment of unit one and the NRC has closely monitored its progress throughout the project.
All three Browns Ferry boiling water reactor units were shut down in 1985, but retained NRC operating licences. TVA agreed it would complete corrective actions and not restart any of the units without NRC approval. Unit two was restarted in 1991 and unit three in 1995.
TVA said last month it had completed more than 15 million work hours during the last five years, modifying, refurbishing or replacing Browns Ferry-1 systems and components to ensure they meet regulatory, technical and operational requirements.
The NRC’s approval for the Browns Ferry-1 restart comes almost exactly five years after the TVA board’s May 2002 decision to spend some 1.8 billion US dollars (1.3 billion euros) to refurbish and return the unit to service.
In May 2006 the NRC renewed the operating licences for all three Browns Ferry units. The licence for unit one was extended until December 2033; the licence for unit two until June 2034; and the licence for unit three until July 2036.
