TVA seeks to settle fuel contract dispute

Thursday, 12 March 2009

The board of Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has approved a settlement of a lawsuit filed by Areva after TVA failed to purchase fuel for the Bellefonte nuclear power plant following the termination of the project.
 

The incomplete Bellefonte plant (Image: TVA)

TVA signed a contract with Areva in 1970 for the supply of fuel for the Bellefonte plant near Scottsboro, Alabama. Construction of the two 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 spent. At that time, unit 1 was some 88% complete, while unit 2 was approximately 58% complete.
 
Areva filed a lawsuit in 2005 claiming that TVA owed Areva $47 million for fuel the utility contracted to buy for the plant.
 
A TVA spokesman told World Nuclear News, "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 US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved TVA's request to cancel the construction permits for the two Bellefonte units in early 2006. However, in February 2009, at TVA's request, the NRC reinstated the construction permits for the two Bellefonte units. TVA has not yet committed to completing them.
 
In October 2007, TVA, in conjunction with the NuStart Consortium, submitted an application for a combined construction and operating licence (COL) for two Westinghouse AP1000 units at the Bellefonte site, utilizing some of the structures and facilities built previously as part of the original Bellefonte project. A decision to actually construct the units has yet to be made. The Bellefonte COL application has been nominated the reference application for the Westinghouse AP1000.