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TVA replaces generators at its newest nuclear unit only six years after finishing the plant
Jun. 14—Less than six years after the
Over the past three months, with the aid of more than 2,000 extra
"The four new steam generators are in place, and all the primary welding to connect the new generators into the plant is complete,"
Over the weekend,
With a price tag of more than
WEATHER DELAYS REPLACEMENT
Rausch said the project has proceeded safely so far, but it was delayed by the weather when there was wind above the Unit 2 containment building that made it too risky to lift and lower the 850,000-pound steam generators into place using a giant Demag Outdoor Lift System Crane with a 300-foot boom— the world's second biggest crane. The crane is capable of lifting 3 million pounds, but with its elevation and 1.4 million pounds of counterweights, the crane also is restricted from operating in windy conditions.
"In order for the boom on the crane to be up with these size loads, the wind had to be below 22 miles an hour, and at the top of the boom, it was not hard to get winds of that magnitude," Rausch said. "So we did experience some weather delays early on when we were taking the old equipment out of the building. But our priority has always been on safety over speed."
Rausch said the new generators should help improve the efficiency of the Watts Bar unit but will not have a major effect on boosting power output.
In 2021, the capacity factor of all nuclear power plants in
"We're moving from the bottom quartile (lowest 25% of performance among all
THE HEAT IS ON
The Unit 2 reactor, which is capable of supplying enough power for about 650,000 homes, won't be available for power generation this week. With the
Hopson said
Although
The Watts Bar project this spring is the last of four such steam generator replacement projects
DECADES OF CONSTRUCTION
The potentially unreliable equipment was installed at Watts Bar in the 1980s before
In 2014,
Contact
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