Sequoyah Nuclear Plant in Tennessee Prepares for Refueling Outage

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The 1,127-megawatt (MW) Sequoyah Nuclear Power Station in Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, is preparing for a refueling outage. The station is owned by Tennessee Valley Authority (NYSE:TVC) (Knoxville, Tennessee).

Plant officials confirmed that the pressurized water reactor (PWR) for Unit 1 began reducing power around September 10 and will shut down on October 14. The shutdown is intended to replace older fuel that can no longer produce energy that is efficient enough to operate the reactor.

The refueling outage is usually conducted on an 18-month or 24-month cycle, depending on the nuclear plant. The unit is brought down, and typically all fuel is removed from the core and placed in a used fuel pool. This makes it easier to perform the necessary maintenance on the reactor core itself.

The process occurs only after the fuel assembly is turned on its side, after which the fuel moves through an underwater canal into a pool. When all of the fuel is in, a portion of the old fuel is removed and replaced with new fuel in what is called a "core shuffle." The intermixed fuel will continue to power the reactor.

The plant has two generating units, with a total generating capacity of 2,277 megawatts when at full load. Unit 2 will continue to generate online during the refuel at full-load capacity.

The Tennessee Valley Authority provides electricity for 9 million people in parts of seven southeastern states at below-average prices. It acts primarily as an electric power wholesaler, selling to 156 retail power distributors and 56 directly served industrial or government customers.

View Plant Profile - 1012648
View Outage Report - 200193

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and nine international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.