The Tennessee Valley Authority said Wednesday it had reached a regulatory milestone, announcing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had voted to direct the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation to issue an operating license for Watts Bar 2, decades after construction had begun on the unit.
Construction at the site near Spring City, Tennessee, began in 1973. But construction was halted in 1988 with the unit about 80 percent complete. Watts Bar 1 was made operational in 1996 and now stands as testament to the long, dry spell for new nuclear reactors in the United States. Watts Bar 1 represents the last time a new reactor reached commercial status in this country.
Watts Bar 2 is on track for commercial operation by the end of the year. TVA vice president in charge of Watts Bar operations and construction Mike Skaggs said the final phase of construction still requires quality work aimed for safety.
"We have a responsibility to complete Watts Bar Unit 2 the right way — safely and with quality — and that's what we're doing. The Watts Bar team has made tremendous progress getting us to this point and is focused on the work and challenges ahead to successfully complete, test, and license Unit 2 and to integrate the unit into TVA's nuclear fleet,” Skaggs said.
Technically, the new regulatory step taken by the NRC was to delegate authority to the Office of Nuclear reactor Regulation to issue the permit for operations. "The commission's action was a critical regulatory step necessary to keep Watts Bar Unit 2 on track to become the nation's first new nuclear generation of the 21st century," TVA's Chief Nuclear Officer Joe Grimes said in a statement.
"The delegation of this authority signifies confidence that NRC inspections show Watts Bar Unit 2 is being built according to rigorous regulatory requirements and industry standards,” Grimes said.