How will restarting Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Unit 1 affect the environment?
Director Bill Baxter: TVA must continue to secure new energy resources to keep pace with our region’s growing economy, which brings jobs to the people of the Tennessee Valley. Nuclear power generation provides clean, affordable, and reliable power. In fact, it is an emission-free technology compared to fossil-fuel combustion. According to the Nuclear Energy Institute, nuclear generation worldwide kept 67.3 million metric tons (74.5 million tons) of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and 34.2 million metric tons (37.7 million tons) of nitrogen oxides (NOx) out of the air between 1973 and 2002. So for TVA, restarting Browns Ferry Nuclear (BFN) Unit 1 in Decatur, Alabama, was a solid business decision in terms of power supply, cost, generation mix, delivered cost of power, and the environment. This $1.8 billion investment is scheduled to add 1,280 megawatts of generating capacity to the TVA system by 2007. BFN Unit 1, projected to be the nation’s first nuclear unit brought online in the 21st century, i
