TVA Applies for Sequoyah Renewal

The Tennessee Valley Authority says it applying to extend the license of its Sequoyah nuclear plant, near Chattanooga. By 2021, the license for both of Sequoyah’s reactors will expire. TVA hopes federal regulators will extend the plant’s lifespan by two decades. The utility just spent more than $360 million to upgrade generators at the plant. The project required lifting the top off the reactor’s containment building with a massive crane.

A public hearing on the renewal will be held in April. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will inspect the plant later in the year. The effort to renew Sequoyah’s license comes as TVA is trying to finish work on its Watts Bar Unit 2 reactor, after years of delays and billions in cost overruns. Meanwhile, one of the utility’s nuclear plants in Alabama is under federal supervision due to safety concerns.