Tennessee Valley Authority
Nuclear Energy
TVA’s nuclear plants contribute 6,900 megawatts of electricity to the power grid, making TVAN — the TVA Nuclear organization — an integral part of the seven-state power system.
About 30 percent of TVA’s power supply comes from its three nuclear plants: Browns Ferry, near Athens, Ala.; Sequoyah, in Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., and Watts Bar, near Spring City, Tenn. Those plants alone make enough electricity to power more than three million homes in the Tennessee Valley.
As nuclear performance improves across the industry, TVAN’s challenge is to continue its mission of ensuring safe plant operations and achieve its vision of being the best multi-site nuclear power operator in the world.
Superior Performance
By focusing on the four key areas of industrial and radiological safety, intolerance for equipment deficiencies, equipment reliability, and excellence in human performance, TVA’s nuclear employees have achieved superior performance and a nuclear industry award recognizing their achievements.
TVA’s Nuclear Sites
Read information about the TVAN corporate organization and each nuclear plant's history, workforce, and management team.
Emergency Preparedness
TVA Nuclear’s operating standards and its highly trained workforce make it unlikely that a radiological incident would occur. Nevertheless, emergency preparedness is an integral part of TVA’s nuclear power program.
As part of that preparedness, TVA has a Prompt Notification System in place to provide information to the public in the event of an emergency. The following PDF files outline specific emergency measures for each TVA nuclear power plant.
Browns Ferry (1.4 mb)
Emergency sirens are tested on the second Monday of each month.
Sequoyah (1.5 Mb)
Emergency sirens are tested on the first Wednesday of each month.
Watts Bar (1.4 mb)
Emergency sirens are tested on the first Wednesday of each month.
More emergency information
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission offers information on national emergency response measures and public safety issues.
Security
U.S. nuclear power plants, including TVA facilities, were safe and secure prior to September 11, 2001, and they are even more so today, serving as a role-model for industrial security in America.
TVA is a member of the NuStart consortium, which is composed of eight other utility companies, plus General Electric Company and Westinghouse Electric Company. The consortium was formed to investigate the design, certification and licensing of advanced nuclear power reactors in connection with the U.S. Department of Energy's Nuclear Power 2010 program.
