Earth Equity News

Hot River Forces Costly Cutback for TVA's Largest Nuclear Plant. By Dave Flessner, Chattanooga Times, August 23, 2010. "The TVA Authority has lost nearly $50 million in power generation from its biggest nuclear plant because the Tennessee River in Alabama is too hot. Unless the summer cools down, TVA could lose millions of dollars more, pushing up fuel costs and consumer electric bills even after seven consecutive monthly increases. The Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant near Athens, Ala., has operated at only about half power for most of the past month and could remain at reduced power through September, TVA officials said. The three-reactor plant -- TVA's biggest nuclear facility -- has been the hardest hit of any of the nation's 104 nuclear plants by thermal concerns over river water, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute and TVA. In August, TVA violated its permit with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management when the river temperature topped 90 degrees. The cutback means TVA is losing 1,500 megawatts of power generation just when it's needed most. For each day of 50 percent power at Browns Ferry, the utility spends more than $1 million extra to pay for replacement power, officials said."