This blog was written by Sara Barczak, former Regional Advocacy Director with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.
Guest Blog | February 24, 2016 | Energy Policy, Nuclear
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) made a huge announcement last week when they definitively abandoned their plans to pursue building any new nuclear reactors at their Bellefonte site near Hollywood, Alabama. TVA had proposed having up to four reactors on the site: completing the long-idled, antiquated reactor designs at Units 1 & 2 (which many referred to as the “zombie reactors”) and building two new Toshiba-Westinghouse AP1000 reactors, Units 3 & 4. But that all ended with successive announcements of cancellations by the utility, dealing yet another blow to the never-realized, so-called “nuclear renaissance.”
This exciting news now gives northeastern Alabama a chance at a future not plagued by the threats posed by an operational nuclear plant — no highly radioactive nuclear waste to worry about, no water-guzzling power plant threatening local water resources, no long and cumbersome decommissioning to deal with, no skyrocketing utility bills and no more concerns about what happens to the community if a serious accident were to occur. HOORAY!
In celebration of TVA’s smart decision to save billions and billions of dollars by stopping their pursuit of nuclear power at Bellefonte and instead considering the possible sale of the site to outside parties, we developed a poll to offer YOU a chance to decide what should be done with the site. Options include whimsical choices like an amusement park, as well as practical choices like a solar farm.
Click here to access the poll!
And also feel free to send your thoughts on TVA’s proposal to the utility by March 18 – find more details here.