Alabama’s two nuclear power plants are in middle age now, but their owners believe that with ongoing modernization they will continue to meet the region’s power needs for decades.
Workers at Tennessee Valley Authority’s Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Athens celebrated its 50th anniversary on Aug. 1. Unit 1 began commercial operation in 1974 and can produce enough power for more than 2 million homes and businesses.
Alabama Power’s Farley Nuclear Plant, which generates 18% of the utility’s electricity, opened near Dothan in 1977.
Powering the Tennessee Valley
Browns Ferry is TVA’s first and largest nuclear power plant and the third-largest in the nation. Three boiling-water reactors produce about 20% of TVA’s total generation capacity. More than 1,500 employees and contractors work there.
In 1974, Browns Ferry’s three reactors were the first units in the world capable of producing more than 1,000 megawatts — or a billion watts of power. Today, Browns Ferry generates up to 3,954 megawatts of carbon-free baseload energy.
TVA continues to make significant upgrades to the aging power plant in Limestone County to keep Tennessee Valley lights on, factories bustling and homes comfortable.
“Our continued investment in Browns Ferry is a reflection of our commitment to providing an affordable, reliable and clean energy future,” says Jeff Lyash, TVA president and CEO.
Browns Ferry employees have reason to be proud of reaching the milestone anniversary, Lyash says.
“All of TVA’s employees, both past and present, demonstrate a dedication to operational excellence, safety, environmental stewardship, emergency preparedness and embracing new technology,” he says.
Extending operating licenses for TVA’s nuclear fleet is a priority to meet the load growth of the region, officials say.
“Browns Ferry is the first TVA nuclear power plant to submit an application for subsequent license renewal to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to allow all three units to continue operation for an additional 20 years after the current licenses expire,” says TVA spokesperson Clarissa McClain.
TVA’s seven nuclear reactors, McClain says, “safely and reliably (provide) about 40% of all electricity used by nearly 10 million people in the Tennessee Valley region.”
With more public demand for carbon-neutral energy, TVA is a strong advocate for nuclear plants to do the heavy lifting.
“We are actively exploring innovative ways to generate and deliver carbon-free energy and are committed to leading the clean energy effort,” McClain says.
“We believe advanced nuclear technologies will play a critical role in our region and nation’s drive toward a clean energy future,” agrees Lyash. “Small modular reactors are an energy innovation technology that America must dominate — for our energy security, which is really our national security.”
TVA has an early site permit for a small modular reactor at its Clinch River site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and has earmarked $150 million for development there.
Its unfinished Bellefonte nuclear plant in Jackson County was auctioned in 2016 after more than 40 years of off-and-on construction, but the TVA board later terminated the agreement. TVA currently uses the location for meetings, tours and training exercises for its employees and outside organizations.
“The current objective is to preserve the site for potential future development; however, no decisions have been made,” McClain says.
TVA operates the nation’s largest public power system and supplies power in most of Tennessee, 13 counties in north Alabama from Mississippi to Georgia, northeastern Mississippi, southwestern Kentucky and in portions of northern Georgia, western North Carolina and southwestern Virginia.
According to TVA, the region’s population is growing three times faster than the national average. A University of Tennessee study projects the population will increase 22% by 2050.
“TVA is investing $2.8 billion to strengthen the power grid across its service area through 2027,” says McClain. “With nearly 60% of TVA’s energy already carbon-free, these power grid improvements will help ensure the region’s energy security as the agency provides reliable, affordable, resilient and clean energy.”
With recent upgrades and modifications, Browns Ferry can provide electricity for years to come, TVA officials say — and do so safely.
“Our nuclear plants operate with oversight by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and have multiple safety systems in place to keep our workforce and the communities we serve safe,” McClain says.
Safety systems include physical barriers that protect against radiation release, she says, and “layer upon layer of redundant and diverse backup power systems to keep reactors sufficiently cooled — even in the most extreme or unlikely events.”
Browns Ferry is a boiling-water reactor, the only one in TVA’s nuclear fleet that also includes Watts Bar and Sequoyah in East Tennessee. Boiling-water reactors turn water into steam in the reactor core, and the steam turns the plant’s turbine and generator.
Nuclear energy’s role to grow
Southern Nuclear’s Plant Vogtle is in Waynesboro, Georgia, on the Savannah River on the Georgia/South Carolina border. Southern Company is headquartered in Atlanta, with some employees in Birmingham. It’s the parent company of Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Mississippi Power and Southern Nuclear, among others.
Plant Vogtle’s new Unit 4 entered commercial operation in April. It can produce enough electricity to power 500,000 homes and businesses for at least 60 to 80 years.
With all four units now in operation, Plant Vogtle is the largest generator of clean energy in the nation and is expected to produce more than 30 million megawatt hours of electricity each year.
“The completion of the expansion of the Vogtle nuclear generation plant to include Unit 3 and now Unit 4 is a hallmark achievement for Southern Company, the state of Georgia and the entire United States,” says Chris Womack, chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company.
Nuclear energy is the only zero-emission baseload energy source available today, offering high reliability and efficient operations around the clock, says Southern Company spokesperson Schuyler Baehman.
Baehman adds that nuclear needs fewer maintenance outages than coal or gas, “making electricity even more reliable.”
“Newer reactors, such as the AP1000s used in Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4, feature more passive safety measures than previous generations of reactors,” he says.
Those AP1000 reactors are the first of their kind in the U.S. and have multiple advanced safety systems, he notes.
“The AP1000 can shut down passively without external power or human intervention. A 750,000-gallon tank of water sits on top of containment — with a three-day supply of water to pour down the sides of containment to cool the reactor if needed.”
In TVA’s view, the nuclear option is the logical choice for the country’s growing energy needs.
“We believe nuclear energy will play a critical role in our region and nation’s energy future,” Lyash says. “Optimizing and extending the life of facilities like Browns Ferry will ensure that we continue to deliver affordable, reliable and clean energy for decades to come.”
Southern Company agrees and is optimistic for more growth due to the robust economic development in its service area.
“After more than a decade of a plateau in energy demand, projected retail electric sales growth for the system has accelerated to about 6% from 2025 to 2028,” says Baehman.
“Our system-wide integrated resource planning process supports the addition of a balanced mix of generation resources over the next several years and projects a significant increase in renewable resources over the next decade.”
Deborah Storey is a Huntsville-based freelance contributor to Business Alabama.
This article appears in the November 2024 issue of Business Alabama.
