TVA board to settle fuel Bellefonte nuclear power plant contract dispute
- By Stephen Heiser -
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) board of directors has approved a settlement of a lawsuit filed by Areva after TVA declined to purchase fuel for the Bellefonte nuclear power plant following the termination of the project. TVA inked a contract with Areva in 1970 for the supply of fuel for the Bellefonte plant near Scottsboro, Alabama. Construction of the twin 1200 MWe pressurised water reactors (PWRs) started in 1974. However, TVA deferred construction of Bellefonte in 1988 after some $2.5 billion had already been invested. At that time, unit 1 was about 88% complete, while unit 2 was approximately 58% complete. Areva filed an action in 2005 claiming that TVA owed Areva $47 million for fuel the utility contracted to buy for the plant. TVA spokesperson John Moulton told Nuclear Street, "The Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors approved a settlement of a lawsuit filed by AREVA when TVA did not purchase fuel following the termination of the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant project in 2005. AREVA had claimed TVA owed $47 million for the fuel. Under the settlement, TVA will make payments of up to $18 million over six years, and the payments may be reduced based on the amount of work performed by AREVA for TVA."
The NRC approved TVA's request to cancel the construction permits for the two Bellefonte units in early 2006. However, in February, at TVA's request, the NRC reinstated the construction permits for the two Bellefonte nuclear units.
Reinstating Bellefonte 1&2 construction permits is an important step among several that TVA has been pursuing to determine whether completion and operation of one or both of these units is a viable option for meeting future base load electricity needs.
Reinstatement of the construction permits does not mean plant construction will begin, even if completion is later determined to be viable. A decision to start construction and complete the plant would be made by the TVA Board.