TVA BLEU Project Named Top Energy Engineering Project of 2005
December 13, 2005
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.—TVA’s successful program to recycle surplus weapons-grade highly enriched uranium for use as fuel in nuclear power plants has been recognized as the Energy Engineering Project of the Year.
TVA Nuclear received a 2005 Platts Global Energy Award for its Blended Low Enriched Uranium project, a partnership venture with the Department of Energy, which supplied the surplus uranium.
TVA Director Skila Harris accepted the award during a ceremony in New York City. Platts Gobal Energy Awards showcase extraordinary accomplishments from the energy business worldwide.
“The BLEU process helps resolve an environmental issue, while at the same time reducing TVA’s fuel costs in generating nuclear power for the Tennessee Valley,” said Harris. “The TVA employees who worked on the BLEU team should be extremely proud that their project was selected from a field of international projects nominated based on difficulty, innovation, safety record, commercial success and environmental impact. This project is an outstanding example of innovative thinking that is making TVA’s nuclear organization a leader in the nuclear power industry.”
TVA entered into agreements with DOE, contractor Framatome ANP and subcontractor Nuclear Fuel Services of Erwin, Tenn., resulting in the first BLEU fuel being loaded into Unit 2 at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in April 2005. TVA projects that using BLEU fuel will save 25 percent in nuclear fuel costs, compared with purchasing enriched uranium on the commercial market at today’s cost.
Judges in the awards competition pointed out that TVA and its partners overcame many first-of-a-kind engineering challenges that arose in fabricating, transporting and using the fuel. They also noted that the project has the potential benefit of eliminating a security risk posed by the storage of excess, unneeded weapons-grade material.
TVA Nuclear operates two units at Browns Ferry near Athens, Ala., two units at Sequoyah Nuclear Plant in Soddy Daisy, Tenn., and one unit at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant near Spring City, Tenn. TVA is currently working to restart a third nuclear unit at Browns Ferry, which will become the nation’s first nuclear generation of the 21st Century in 2007.
TVA is the nation’s largest public power provider and is completely selffinanced. TVA provides power to large industries and 158 power distributors that serve approximately 8.6 million consumers in seven southeastern states.
Media Contact
Kay Whittenburg, (423) 751-7152
TVA News Bureau, Knoxville, (865) 632-6000
