US is three years away from new nuclear reactor

Chattanooga Times Free Press : The Tennessee Valley Authority is on track to complete a $2.5 billion, five-year plan to finish a second reactor at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant by 2012.TVA began construction of Watts Bar II in 1973, but work was suspended in 1988 when TVA’s growth in power sales declined. After mothballing the unit for 19 years, TVA’s board decided in 2007 to finish the reactor because it is projected to provide cheaper, no carbon-emitting power compared with the existing coal plants or purchased power it may help replace. More than 1850 TVA and contract employees are working on the project.Watts Bar II is the first commercial reactor in the country to seek a license since 1995 and could be the last reactor of its generation to be built.