[UPDATED]The Tennessee Valley Authority has declared the new Watts Bar Unit 2 reactor to be “substantially complete” and sent a request to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for an operating license for the unit that would be the first U.S. reactor put into commercial operation in this century.
Construction at the site near Spring City, Tenn., between Chattanooga and Knoxville began in 1973. The Westinghouse Pressurized Water Reactor labeled Unit 1 was put on line in 1996. That makes Unit 1 the last nuclear reactor put into operation in the last century.
TVA said in a statement that it had documented the new unit's construction status in a letter to the NRC, including details on the equipment refurbishment and qualification programs to ensure that safety- and quality-related structures, systems and components meet design specifications. “The Quality Assurance Program, quality control reviews, assessments and inspections that ensure construction activities have and continue to meet regulatory requirements,” the TVA said.
The notification to the NRC follows recent completion of comprehensive testing on major Unit 2 systems to demonstrate operational readiness. Called hot functional testing, the tests showed that nearly 60 important systems can function together at operational temperature and pressure as designed and built. Important safety-related systems were also tested to show they can help keep the reactor safely cooled. Completion of hot functional testing meets a critical pre-operational requirement for NRC to issue a license.
"Completion of hot functional testing and submittal of the substantially complete notification are among the historic milestones that continue to be achieved at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant as Unit 2 is completed and tested the right way – safely, with quality and in a manner to ensure regulatory compliance and excellence in operations after licensing," said Mike Skaggs, senior vice president of Watts Bar Operations and Construction. "The successes are the result of hard work by everybody on the Watts Bar team and demonstrate our commitment to safely preparing Unit 2 for fuel load."