Bellefonte Nuclear Generating Station

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Bellefonte Nuclear Generating Station
Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant.jpg
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Location of Bellefonte Nuclear Generating Station
CountryUnited States
Location Hollywood, Alabama
Coordinates 34°42′31″N85°55′45″W / 34.70861°N 85.92917°W / 34.70861; -85.92917 Coordinates: 34°42′31″N85°55′45″W / 34.70861°N 85.92917°W / 34.70861; -85.92917
StatusSuspended for 31 years
Construction began1975 [1]
Construction cost US$6 billion (Units 1 & 2)
Owner(s) Tennessee Valley Authority
Nuclear power station
Reactor type PWR
Reactor supplierBabcock & Wilcox [2]
Power generation
Units under const.2 × 1,235  MW
Units cancelled2 × 1,100 MW [2]

The Bellefonte Nuclear Generating Station (BLN) is an unfinished nuclear power plant in Hollywood, Alabama, United States.

Nuclear power plant thermal power station where the heat source is a nuclear reactor

A nuclear power plant or nuclear power station is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As it is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces electricity. As of 23 April 2014, the IAEA report there are 450 nuclear power reactors in operation operating in 31 countries.

Hollywood, Alabama Town in Alabama, United States

Hollywood is a town in Jackson County, northeast Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 1,000, up from 950 in 2000. Hollywood is considered a suburb of Scottsboro, the county seat. The town is the site of the Tennessee Valley Authority's never-completed Bellefonte Nuclear Generating Station. The TVA sold the plant, and as of 2018, it is to be developed by private interests.

Alabama State of the United States of America

Alabama is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama is the 30th largest by area and the 24th-most populous of the U.S. states. With a total of 1,500 miles (2,400 km) of inland waterways, Alabama has among the most of any state.

Contents

History

A total of four nuclear reactors (two originally; and two of new designs), have been proposed for the site over a 40-year period, with over $4 billion having been spent (constructing the preliminary plant infrastructure and ordering/delivering/installing major equipment items). [3] But no nuclear reactor nor electric generating plant was ever completed; and no nuclear fuel was delivered or loaded.

Nuclear reactor device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction

A nuclear reactor, formerly known as an atomic pile, is a device used to initiate and control a self-sustained nuclear chain reaction. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in propulsion of ships. Heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid, which in turn runs through steam turbines. These either drive a ship's propellers or turn electrical generators' shafts. Nuclear generated steam in principle can be used for industrial process heat or for district heating. Some reactors are used to produce isotopes for medical and industrial use, or for production of weapons-grade plutonium. Some are run only for research. As of early 2019, the IAEA reports there are 454 nuclear power reactors and 226 nuclear research reactors in operation around the world.

Meaningful construction progress at the site was halted in 1988. Starting after its termination in 2005. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) implemented an investment recovery effort to recoup some of the costs associated with Bellefonte. As part of the investment recovery effort, all or parts of some major plant components, including steam generators, feedwater heaters, large pumps and motors, demineralized water and condensate storage tanks, main condenser tubes, and some piping and valves were removed and sold. Additionally, some usable components were transferred from Bellefonte to other TVA facilities as spares. [3]

Tennessee Valley Authority company

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter on May 18, 1933, to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development to the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected by the Great Depression. The enterprise was a result of the efforts of Senator George W. Norris of Nebraska. TVA was envisioned not only as a provider, but also as a regional economic development agency that would use federal experts and electricity to more quickly modernize the region's economy and society.

Units 1 and 2

The Bellefonte Nuclear Generating Station site is owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority and is located in Hollywood, Alabama. The two partially built 1,256 megawatt (MWe) pressurized water reactors on the site were made by Babcock & Wilcox; they are called a 205 design due to the number of fuel assemblies in the core. These units are of the same design as WNP-1, which is also unfinished, and as the Mülheim-Kärlich  A reactor in Germany, which operated for three years and proved the design.

Pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant with a cooling system that operates under high pressure

Pressurized water reactors (PWRs) constitute the large majority of the world's nuclear power plants and are one of three types of light water reactor (LWR), the other types being boiling water reactors (BWRs) and supercritical water reactors (SCWRs). In a PWR, the primary coolant (water) is pumped under high pressure to the reactor core where it is heated by the energy released by the fission of atoms. The heated water then flows to a steam generator where it transfers its thermal energy to a secondary system where steam is generated and flows to turbines which, in turn, spin an electric generator. In contrast to a boiling water reactor, pressure in the primary coolant loop prevents the water from boiling within the reactor. All LWRs use ordinary water as both coolant and neutron moderator.

Babcock & Wilcox company

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises Inc., originally Babcock, Wilcox & Company and then The Babcock & Wilcox Company, is a global leader in advanced energy and environmental technologies and services for the power, renewable and industrial markets. B&W is headquartered in Barberton, Ohio.

WNP-1 and WNP-4

Washington Nuclear Project Nos. 1 and 4, abbreviated as WNP-1 and WNP-4 were two of the five nuclear power plants on which construction was started by the Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS) in order to meet projected electricity demand in the Pacific Northwest. WNP-1, WNP-2 and WNP-3 were part of the original 1968 plan, with WNP-4 and WNP-5 added in the early 1970s.

Reactor Unit 1 construction was estimated at 88%  complete (mechanical - nuclear island) and Unit 2 construction was estimated 58% complete (mechanical - nuclear island) when TVA's Board suspended the project and the plants' construction in 1988, after a combined $6 billion investment. Subsequent asset recovery activities (i.e., the removal (without ordering or planning for replacement), of usable equipment and systems to other TVA power plant sites), along with more recent (2000s) inspections of the operable state of remaining equipment, resulted in BLN 1&2 now being considered approximately 55 percent and 35 percent complete (mechanical - nuclear island only) respectively. [4]

Asset recovery, also known as investment or resource recovery, is the process of maximizing the value of unused or end-of-life assets through effective reuse or divestment. While sometimes referred to in the context of a company undergoing liquidation, Asset recovery also can describe the process of liquidating excess inventory, refurbished items, and equipment returned at the end of a lease.

Although the construction permits were terminated on September 15, 2006, TVA investigated the completion of these first two units with operation projected to start Unit 1 in 2017 and Unit 2 in 2021. In August 2008 TVA asked the NRC to reinstate the construction permits as part of the restart evaluation. This request was granted by the NRC on February 9, 2009, albeit as a terminated application, which required significant inspection of all systems to bring the license to the deferred stage. The status was upgraded January 14, 2010 to "deferred". [5]

Units 3 and 4

On September 22, 2005 it was announced that Bellefonte was also selected as the site for one or two AP1000 pressurized water reactors to be called Units 3 and 4. TVA filed the necessary applications [6] in November 2007 to begin the design and construction process. For details, see Nuclear Power 2010 Program.

In August 2009, the Tennessee Valley Authority, faced with "falling electric sales and rising costs from cleaning up a massive coal ash spill in Tennessee", trimmed plans for the potential four-unit Bellefonte nuclear plant to one reactor. [7]

Later developments

On August 20, 2010 the TVA Board of Directors authorized $248 million to continue development of the Bellefonte Unit 1. [8] On August 18, 2011, the TVA board of directors voted to proceed with the construction of the unit one reactor at Bellefonte. [9]

In 2011, TVA approved a plan to restart construction of the Bellefonte Unit 1 reactor, [9] dependent on work at another reactor TVA completing - Watts Bar 2 in Tennessee. [10] In December 2012, TVA said the Watts Bar 2 project is on schedule to finish in December 2015. [11]

TVA again announced staffing cuts at the plant in June 2013, reducing staffing at the plant from 540 to approximately 140. [12] [13]

In October 2013, it was announced that former TVA Chairman Dennis Bottorff and financier Franklin L. Haney have drafted a proposal to finish the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant using private funds and federal tax credits [14]

Sale of site

In 2015 TVA determined that it would be unlikely to need a large plant such as Bellefonte for the next 20 years, [15] and in May 2016 elected to declare the plant surplus, and sell the 1,600-acre site at auction for a minimum price of $36.4 million. [16] [17]

On October 14, 2016, TVA directors declared the unfinished nuclear plant to be surplus property and set a November 14, 2016 auction date to sell the unfinished plant and property. [18] Nuclear Development LLC, led by Chattanooga-based developer Franklin L. Haney, won the auction to purchase the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant with a bid of $111 million, three times the minimum bid of $36.4 million. Nuclear Development intended to complete the two units at a projected additional investment of over $13 billion. [19] Haney's bid beat the only other bidder, Jackson Holdings of Alabama LLC, which was hoping to use components from the unfinished plant for a reactor under construction in India. [20] Another prospective bidder, Phoenix Energy of Nevada, was unable to complete financing arrangements in time to place a bid. [20]

As of November 2017, construction at the facility was expected to start by the end of 2018 and take approximately five years to complete. [21] Nuclear Development LLC made agreements to partner with SNC-Lavalin and Enercon Services, Inc. in the completion of the project [22] [23] .

In August 2018, it was reported that Haney agreed to pay Michael Cohen (associate of President Donald Trump) $10 million in exchange for help obtaining federal funding for the project. [24] [25] [26] Haney says he hired Cohen to pursue investment from a Qatari sovereign fund and that neither he nor Cohen sought to lobby Trump about DOE loan guarantees. [27]

In December 2018, TVA pulled out of the sale agreement, citing failure by Haney to obtain regulatory approval for the transfer of the site. [27]

Reactor data

The Bellefonte Generating Station consisted of four cancelled reactors.

Reactor unitReactor typeCapacityConstruction startedElectricity grid connectionCommercial operationShutdown
NetGross
Bellefonte-1B&W-2051235 MW1263 MW01.01.1975Cancelled construction on 01.01.1988, but planned to resume construction
Bellefonte-2B&W-2051235 MW1263 MW01.01.1975Cancelled construction on 01.01.1988, but planned to resume construction
Bellefonte-3 AP1000 1117 MW0 MWCancelled plant
Bellefonte-4 AP1000 1117 MW0 MWCancelled plant

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References

  1. ↑ AEC REGULATORY STAFF'S PROPOSED FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW IN THE FORM OF A PROPOSED PARTIAL INITIAL DECISION ON ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS AND SITE SUITABILITY p.19
  2. 1 2 NRC: Bellefonte Nuclear Site, Units 3 and 4 Application
  3. 1 2 http://oig.tva.gov/reports/16rpts/2016-15376.pdf
  4. ↑
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ Tennessee Valley Authority Application for a Combined Licence
  7. ↑ TVA plan for Ala. nuclear plant drops to 1 reactor
  8. ↑ "$248M OK'd for TVA Bellefonte site in Ala". knoxnews.com. August 21, 2010. Archived from the original on 2012-02-29.
  9. 1 2 "TVA board approves construction of nuclear plant". The Tennessean. August 18, 2011. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
  10. ↑ "TVA cuts contractors at Alabama Bellefonte nuclear site". Reuters. Mar 16, 2012.
  11. ↑ http://www.tva.com/power/nuclear/pdf/wb2_performance_summary_dec_2012.pdf
  12. ↑ Sonal Patel (June 20, 2013). "TVA Indefinitely Delays Bellefonte Nuclear Project" . Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  13. ↑ Brian Lawson (June 12, 2013). "TVA slowing work, cutting jobs at Bellefonte Nuclear plant, project's future being assessed" . Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  14. ↑ Flessner, Dave (30 October 2013). "Critics Blast Plan for Private Financing of TVA's Bellefonte Nuclear Plant". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Tennessee. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  15. ↑ "TVA mulls potential sale of Bellefonte plant". World Nuclear News. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  16. ↑ "TVA board votes to sell Bellefonte nuclear plant to highest bidder". WHNT. May 6, 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  17. ↑ Derek Hawkins (12 September 2016). "For sale: Multibillion-dollar, non-working nuclear power plant, as is". Washington Post. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  18. ↑ Flessner, Dave (14 October 2016). "TVA sets auction date for Bellefonte nuclear power plant". Times Free Press. Chattanooga. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  19. ↑ Gattis, Paul (14 November 2016). "Bellefonte nuclear plant sold for $111 million at auction, company plans $13 billion investment". The Huntsville Times. Alabama Media Group. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  20. 1 2 Flessner, Dave (14 November 2016). "Haney wins bidding contest for abandoned nuclear plant". Times Free Press. Chattanooga. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  21. ↑
  22. ↑
  23. ↑ "Georgia firm to help build nuclear power plant in Bellefonte", Biz Journals (Birmingham), 28 June 2018
  24. ↑
  25. ↑
  26. ↑ https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2018/nov/07/doe-sued-records-trump-lawyer-lobbying-bellef/482631/
  27. 1 2 https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/breakingnews/story/2018/dec/01/tva-scraps-bellefonte-sale/484107/
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