Solar farm brings new use to abandoned nuclear power plant site

photonJuly 5, 2017415

US solar project developer Birdseye Renewable Energy recently partnered with United Renewable Energy to design and construct a 1 MW solar farm bringing energy generation to Hawkins County. The energy is sold to local utility Holston Electric.

The solar plant is located near former »Phipps Bend Nuclear Power Plant«, whose construction started in 1978. Tucked in a bend of the Holston River near Surgoinsville, Tennessee, the project was expected to revitalize the area's economy. The electricity it generated would reach the entire coverage area of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Just a few years into the project, energy demand and prices were falling.

The partial nuclear meltdown at Three Mile Island triggered increased citizen concerns along with increased costs to meet new regulatory requirements. TVA’s Board of Directors ceased construction in 1981. The plant was never operational. While an industrial park was developed nearby in the late 1980s, the plant was only used for safety training exercises, says the company.

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