Recovery work is ahead of schedule for a May 2007 restart of the idled Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Unit 1 reactor, according to Tennessee Valley Authority officials.

The TVA reactor restart team met with Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials Thursday night at Calhoun Community College for the Unit 1 Restart Oversight Panel meeting.

“We are on schedule for a startup in May—actually somewhat ahead of schedule—with overall completion at 90 percent,” said TVA restart team member Masoud Bajestani.

He said the fuel rods, which have already been received from General Electric, would be loaded in December, if work remains on schedule.

The overall 90 percent completion represents 94-percent completion of engineering work and 88-percent completion of modifications in the $1.8 billion project to bring the reactor back on line.

TVA took all three Browns Ferry reactors out of service in 1985 because of safety concerns. The utility restarted Unit 2 in 1991 and Unit 3 in 1995. Recovery of Unit 1 began in May 2002.

In May, the NRC signed certificates of 20-year renewals for all three reactors. The renewal will authorize Unit 1 to operate until 2033; Unit 2 to 2034; and Unit 3 to 2036.

The restart of Unit 1 will provide an additional 1,280 megawatts of electricity, enough to light 650,000 homes, according to TVA spokesman Craig Beasley.

While NRC officials did not bring any major issues to the forefront in Thursday’s meeting, NRC spokesman Ken Clark said the regulatory officials did caution TVA to allow adequate time for inspection and review before seeking permission to restart.

“There are a number of important milestones coming up at which time we will be inspecting and reviewing,” said Clark. “After inspection it requires time to review.

“The NRC is asking that, when possible, they don’t wait until the last moment to turn everything in. At present, there is not reason to say that TVA won’t meet the projected schedule. The schedule is tight, but it’s doable.”

Clark said the next restart panel meeting is tentatively set for sometime in October in Washington, D.C.