Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant

Tennessee Valley Authority's 3 unit Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant is located on the Tennessee River at Athens, Alabama approximately 30 minutes from Huntsville. Each unit is an 1100 MWe General Electric Boiling Water Reactor. Browns Ferry was TVA's first nuclear plant and the first in the world rated at more than 1000 MWe. Construction of Browns Ferry began in 1967. Commercial operation for each unit occurred : Unit 1 - 1974 ; Unit 2 - 1975; Unit 3 - 1977

In 1985, the facility was shutdown during a review of TVA's nuclear power program. Units 2 and 3 are currently operational. Unit 1 was shutdown after a fire in the 1970's. The unit is now in the process of being upgraded so that it can be returned to service.

Courtesy TVA

In the photo, the substation is on the left side of the plant. The tall stack is used to exhaust gases from the offgas system, which controls the discharges from the plant's air ejector system. The mechanical draft cooling towers in the foreground can be used to reduce the thermal discharge to the river by transferring some of the heat to the air.

The following illustrate the Browns Ferry plant (courtesy TVA):

Browns Ferry at night (20K)
Three plant cooling cycles with explanation (193K)
Close-up view of Browns Ferry (162K)
Emergency planning zones around the plant (157K)
Boiling Water Reactor building layout graphic (106K) Courtesy GE
Turbine deck at Browns Ferry (20K)
Substation (19K)

TVA also operates the 2-unit Sequoyah PWR plant at Soddy-Daisy near Chattanooga, Tennessee and the Watts Bar PWR facility. Watts Bar is the most recently completed nuclear reactor in the United States. Click the link for other inside and outside photos of BWR plants.

See the US plant address, plants, and map pages for more information.