The Tennessee Valley Authority has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to reinstate its construction permits for two unfinished nuclear units at the Bellefonte site in Alabama. COO Bill McCollum said reinstating the permits is the first step toward determining if completing the units is viable. TVA has authorized a $10 million study to evaluate the feasibility of completing the two units. The two 1,300-MW units were mothballed in 1988 when Unit 1 was 88% complete and Unit 2 was 58% complete, John Moulton, a TVA spokesman, said. TVA asked the NRC to cancel the construction permits in 2006. "Reinstating the construction permits would allow TVA to place the units in a deferred status again with the NRC," Ashok Bhatnagar, TVA's senior vice president of nuclear generation and development and construction, said. It would also help TVA clarify the regulatory requirements for completing the two units, he said.
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