Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant
The Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant is located on the Tennessee River near Decatur and Athens, Alabama, on the north side (right bank) of Wheeler Lake. The site has three General Electric boiling water reactor (BWR) nuclear generating units and is owned entirely by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). With a generating capacity of nearly 3.8 gigawatts, it is the second most powerful nuclear plant in the United States, behind the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Arizona, and the most powerful generating station operated by TVA. History The nuclear power plant is named after a ferry that operated at the site until the middle of the 20th century. Browns Ferry was TVA's first nuclear power plant; its approval occurred on June 17, 1966 and construction began in September 1966. In 1974, the time of its initial operation, it was the largest nuclear plant in the world. It was the first nuclear plant to use units capable of generating more than 1 gigawatt of power. The lake provides main cooling, and 7 additional Mechanical Draft "helper" cooling towers assist during limitations on water temperature. The 600 ft concrete chimney vents gases. In 2006, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) renewed the licenses