12 Apr (NucNet): Construction at Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Bar-2 nuclear unit in Tennessee is about 80 percent complete, on schedule and on budget, the federal utility said in an update yesterday.
The statement follows an announcement in April 2011 that the cost of the project had increased by 2 billion US dollars (USD) (1.5 billion euro) and the schedule had slipped three years.
The final cost could be slightly less than the USD 4 billion to USD 4.5 billion estimate, but it is too early to be certain, TVA said.
“The update shows that productivity is aligning with the schedule and the pace of installing commodities, such as miscellaneous steel, electrical conduit, large valves and tubing, is on track to support completion milestones,” said Mike Skaggs, TVA senior vice-president for nuclear construction.
In 2008, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved an application to extend the construction permit of the unfinished Watts Bar-2. The unit will be a 1,100 megawatt-electric Westinghouse-designed pressurised water reactor (PWR).
Construction was halted on Watts Bar-2 in 1985, partly because of a projected fall in electricity demand.
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