The Tennessee Valley Authority announced Friday that Concentric Energy Advisors Inc., on the company's behalf, had scheduled a live auction for the sale of the unfinished Bellefonte nuclear power plant in Hollywood, Alabama.
That auction will proceed in real time on November 14, starting at 9:00 a.m. Central Standard Time, which is 10:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.
The TVA reiterated its primary goal for selling the property, where construction on the two reactors at the site was halted when demand for power stalled in the mid to late 1980s. After about $5 billion in investments, construction on the two units was officially halted in January 1988.
The TVA announced it would sell the property in May 2016. Up until 2013, the company was looking at options for completing the two reactors. By 2015, the TVA had decided that it would not require another large generation facility for at least 20 years due to slack marketplace demand. The TVA said then that it would sell the property to allow for economic growth in the community.
When construction stopped, Unit 1 at the plant was considered 90 percent completed. Unit 2 was considered 58 percent completed. However, since work was halted, many installed parts have been sold or put to use at other facilities.
The TVA has set a minimum bid for the Bellefonte property at $36.4 million. There have been news reports that indicate one bid has already been received from a buyer who does not intend to complete construction of the unfinished reactors that TVA has maintained at the 1,400-acre property over the decades, despite having taken some parts away.
TVA said the site currently is not subject to any zoning regulations. “The site could support a mix of industrial, commercial, retail and residential use,” the company said.
“Over the life of this property, the economic landscape and the need for electricity in the Valley has changed greatly,” the TVA said in a statement. “Selling the property is a smart business decision because TVA's 2015 Integrated Resource Plan shows that large base-load capacity is no needed for more than 20 years.”
“Putting the property on the market allows future owners to provide maximum long-term economic value,” according to the statement.