TVA begins refueling of Watts Bar 2
Reactors

TVA begins refueling of Watts Bar 2

Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 2 began a scheduled refueling and maintenance outage Nov. 3.

The work includes loading 92 new nuclear fuel assemblies, performing inspections of reactor components and steam generators, maintenance of plant equipment and installing unit enhancements.

“Refueling and maintenance outages allow our highly skilled team members to make the improvements and upgrades to the unit’s systems and components to ensure Watts Bar Unit 2 continues to deliver safe and reliable carbon-free energy for 10 million people across the Tennessee Valley,” said Tony Williams, TVA Watts Bar Site Vice President.

Watts Bar Unit 2 is one of seven TVA nuclear reactors. TVA’s nuclear fleet is the third largest in the nation, providing more than 40% of all electricity TVA generates.

After decades of development, TVA announced in late 2016 that Watts Bar Unit 2 had completed a series of power ascension tests and reliably operated at full power for more than three weeks. Construction began on TVA’s third nuclear plant in 1973 and Unit 1 at Watts Bar entered commercial operations in 1996. TVA, in 1988, suspended construction activities on Unit 2 due to a reduction in the predicted power demand growth. In 2007, TVA approved the completion of Unit 2 after finishing studies of energy needs, schedule, costs, environmental impacts and financial risks.

In November 2022, TVA’s Watts Bar Unit 2 completed a steam generator replacement project at the 1,150 MW facility in eastern Tennessee. Unit 2 entered service in 2016 at a construction cost of $4.7 billion.

The original steam generators were built in the 1970s using a metal alloy that prematurely developed leaks and other problems at other nuclear plants. The equipment was installed at Watts Bar in the 1980s before TVA halted work at the site due to cost overruns, employee safety concerns and a drop in projected power demand. 

TVA determined it would be too costly to replace the original steam generators when construction resumed, so Unit 2 entered service with its original steam generators. The cost to replace the steam generators rose to around $590 million and took weeks longer to install than originally expected due to weather issues.

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