TVA is doing ”a heck of a job” restarting our nation’s nuclear energy infrastructure at Browns Ferry.
“The restart of Browns Ferry Unit Number 1 represents the first nuclear reactor to come online in the United States in more than a decade. (Applause.) This is a demonstration that one is capable of doing a job on time and on budget. And I congratulate you all for your hard work, and thank you for the contribution you’re making to the United States of America.”
[text of President Bush's speech at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant - Hunstville Times - 06-21-07]
short cuts
An investigation by the Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) has found that the recently-restarted Browns Ferry-1 reactor still does not comply with federal fire protection regulations put into place because of a near-catastrophic fire at the reactor in 1975.
[NIRS Investigation Finds That "New" Browns Ferry-1 Reactor Still Doesn't Meet Fire Protection Regulations Its 1975 Fire Caused - NIRS - 6-20-07]
budget
The Tennessee Valley Authority’s says the restart of the Unit 1 reactor at Browns Ferry nuclear plant cost about $90 million more than its original $1.8 billion budget.
[Browns Ferry Unit 1 reactor over budget - Tennessean - 12-17-07]
history
“The Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant has a dubious history and can hardly be held up as a model for the industry,” said Michele Boyd, legislative director of Public Citizen’s energy program. “Instead of representing the future of nuclear power, it stands as the premier example of why we stopped ordering new reactors in the first place.”
[Some Find Bush’s Choice of Browns Ferry Puzzling - WSJ - 6-21-07]
Regrettable as a $90 million cost overrun may be, it should be noted that it’s only 5% of the budgeted amount. That’s not a whole lot, as any homeowner who’s undertaken a remodeling project can attest.
Looks like Bush was sandbagged by the TVA (where else would he get the information?)
I have been researching the TVA for several years and have recommended its liquidation to help pay off its huge $24.7 debt.
If the change to a part-time appointed board with a board-appointed CEO was supposed to make a big management difference, well it did. The CEO was just approved for a possible $1 million increase in salary; exhorbitant bonuses paid to resigning employees, even a poor OIC report on TVA’s Economic Development Loan program.
Will the SEC investigate the TVA? Congressional oversight is and has been nonexistant. It’s time to call FDR’s experiment toward the nationalization of electricity over.
The TVA should have been shut down at least 50 years ago. Now, the TVA has inveigled itself into every nook and cranny of life in their 80,000 square mile territory as it continues to pay bribes in lieu of taxes.
As a federal agency, the TVA is a very poor example of good management and stewardship of its assets.