Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire

Major Energy and Environmental News and Commentary affecting the Nuclear Industry.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

TVA: Watts Bar Unit 2

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Watts Bar Unit 2

The completion of Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 2 continues to meet targets for safety, quality, cost, and schedule. Once complete, the unit will produce the first new nuclear generation of the 21st century in the United States — generation that is low-cost and carbon-free.
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Touring TVA’s Watts Bar Nuclear Plant are (left to right) Senior Vice President of Watts Bar Operations & Construction Mike Skaggs and William D. Magwood, a Commissioner with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
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Shown in the Watts Bar 2 Control Room are (left to right) Tom Wallace, Senior Manager of Watts Bar 2 Operations; William C. Ostendorff, a Commissioner with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and Mike Skaggs, Senior Vice President of Watts Bar Operations & Construction.

Schedule

The current focus is on preparing systems needed for open vessel flow testing in May. This test involves pumping water through the open reactor vessel and specific systems needed for operation.
open vessel testing

The unit remains on track to begin operation by December 2015. It will generate 1,150 megawatts of electricity — enough for about 650,000 homes.

Safety

Nearly 3,200 people work on Watts Bar 2 construction. They’ve worked more than 26.9 million hours without a lost-time incident.
Watts Bar 2 will be the first nuclear plant in the U.S. to meet new Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations established after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that struck Fukushima Nuclear Plant in Japan. 

Quality

Quality of work remains high with a quality control acceptance rate greater than 95 percent.

Cost

The project is within budget. The total cost of the Watts Bar 2 project is estimated at $4 billion to $4.5 billion.
Watch this video to see more of what’s been happening at Watts Bar 2.

View previous Watts Bar 2 updates
TVA has high confidence in the new completion schedule and cost estimates for Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 2.
The estimate to complete — called the ETC —  was prepared in collaboration with TVA’s construction contractors and outside experts. The ETC includes:
  • A root-cause analysis of factors that took the project off track
  • A detailed estimate of the costs and time needed to complete the remaining work
  • Estimates for the amount of materials (e.g., conduit, cable, piping) still to be installed, support activities (e.g., scaffolding, painting) and labor rates

http://www.tva.gov/power/nuclear/wattsbar_unit2.htm

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