Clean Energy Group to Speak on TVA Board Decision
Knoxville, Tenn. – On Thursday, April 26, the TVA Board is expected to announce a decision on whether to increase the budget and extend the construction time for the troubled Watts Bar 2 nuclear reactor project. If the board approves extending the construction schedule, estimates are that the new reactor would not be completed until December 2015, three years behind schedule. In addition, approval of TVA’s request for another $1.5 to $2 billion in construction costs will effectively double the original budget of this proposed reactor project, likely resulting in increased electricity rates for TVA customers.
WHO: Former TVA Board Member S. David Freeman and Southern Alliance for Clean Energy Executive Director Dr. Stephen A. Smith will hold a telepress conference April 26, 2012 TVA board meeting to comment on these expected decisions.
WHEN: This live, phone-based telepress conference will begin at 2:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday, April 26 following the TVA board meeting (the agenda is online here). Mr. Freeman and Dr. Smith will be available for in-person media interviews in Knoxville starting at 3 p.m. EDT. Please contact SACE’s media line if interested in scheduling an interview 865.235.1448.
TO PARTICIPATE: You can participate this telepress conference with a QA session at on Thursday, April 26, 2012 by dialing (605) 475-4000 and using access Code: 663387#
CAN’T PARTICIPATE?: A streaming audio replay of this news conference is now available on our website, located here.
BACKGROUND:
On April 5, 2012, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) president and CEO, Tom Kilgore, announced they intended to ask the TVA board to approve additional cost overrun funding as well an extended construction schedule to complete a second reactor at their Watts Bar nuclear plant in Spring City, Tennessee. TVA’s current estimates suggest it will require additional funding of $1.5 to $2 billion to complete, putting the total cost estimate in the range of $4 to $4.5 billion. This is in addition to the nearly $2 billion sunk into original construction costs before TVA halted the project in the mid-1980s. Read Southern Alliance for Clean Energy’s statement on this development here. # # # Southern Alliance for Clean Energy is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization working to promote responsible energy choices that solve global warming problems and ensure clean, safe, healthy communities throughout the Southeast. www.cleanenergy.org