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State Nuclear Profiles

Data for 2010  |  Release Date: April 26, 2012  |  Next Release: February 2013  |   full report

Alabama Nuclear Profile 2010 Alabama profile

Alabama total electric power industry, summer capacity and net generation, by energy source, 2010 
Primary energy source Summer capacity
(mw)		 Share of State total
(percent)		 Net generation
(thousand mwh)		 Share of State total
(percent)
Nuclear 5,043 15.6 37,941 24.9
Coal 11,441 35.3 63,050 41.4
Hydro and Pumped Storage 3,272 10.1 8,704 5.7
Natural Gas 11,936 36.8 39,235 25.8
Other1 100 0.3 643 0.4
Other Renewable1 583 1.8 2,377 1.6
Petroleum 43 0.1 200 0.1
Total 32,417 100.0 152,151 100.0
1Municipal Solid Waste net generation is allocated according to the biogenic and non-biogenic components of the fuel; however, all Municipal Solid Waste summer capacity is classified as Renewable.
Notes: Totals may not equal sum of components due to independent rounding.
Other: Blast furnace gas, propane gas, other manufactured and waste gases derived from fossil fuels, non-biogenic municipal solid waste, batteries, chemicals, hydrogen, pitch, purchased steam, sulfur, tire-derived fuel, and miscellaneous technologies.
Other Renewable: Wood, black liquor, other wood waste, biogenic municipal solid waste, landfill gas, sludge waste, agriculture byproducts, other biomass, geothermal, solar thermal, photovoltaic energy, and wind.
Source: Form EIA-860, "Annual Electric Generator Report," and Form EIA-923, "Power Plant Operations Report."
Alabama nuclear power plants, summer capacity and net generation, 2010 
Plant name/total reactors Summer capacity
(mw)		 Net generation
(thousand mwh)		 Share of State nuclear net generation
(percent)		 Owner
Browns Ferry
Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3		 3,309 24,771 65.3 Tennessee Valley Authority
Joseph M Farley
Unit 1, Unit 2		 1,734 13,170 34.7 Alabama Power Co
2 Plants
5 Reactors		 5,043 37,941 100.0  
Note: Totals may not equal sum of components due to independent rounding.Source: Form EIA-860, "Annual Electric Generator Report," and Form EIA-923, "Power Plant Operations Report."

Plants in State

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant 
Unit Summer capacity
(mw)		 Net gneration
(thousand mwh)		 Summer capacity factor (percent) Type Commercial operation date License expiration date
1 1,101 8,072 83.7 BWR 8/1/1974 12/20/2033
2 1,104 8,843 91.5 BWR 3/1/1975 6/28/2034
3 1,105 7,856 81.2 BWR 3/1/1977 7/2/2036
  3,309 24,771 85.4      
Data for 2010
BWR = Boiling Water Reactor.
Note: Totals may not equal sum of components due to independent rounding.
Source: Form EIA-860, "Annual Electric Generator Report," and Form EIA-923, "Power Plant Operations Report."

Operator: Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

Location: The Browns Ferry plant is located on an 840-acre site near Athens, Alabama.

Construction Cost: $3.259 billion (2007 USD)2

Reactor Descriptions: All units are General Electric Type 4 boiling water reactors.

Cooling System: The Browns Ferry site is cooled by mechanical draft cooling towers that draw water from the Wheeler Reservoir on the Tennessee River.

(Joseph M.) Farley Nuclear Power Plant 
Unit Summer capacity
(mw)		 Net generation
(thousand mwh)		 Summer capacity factor (percent) Type Commercial operation date License expiration date
1 874 6,577 85.9 PWR 12/1/1977 6/25/2037
2 860 6,592 87.5 PWR 7/30/1981 3/31/2041
  1,734 13,170 86.7      
Data for 2010
PWR = Pressurized Light Water Reactor.
Note: Totals may not equal sum of components due to independent rounding.
Source: Form EIA-860, "Annual Electric Generator Report," and Form EIA-923, "Power Plant Operations Report."

Operator: Alabama Power Company

Location and Service Territory: The Joseph M. Farley plant, near Dothan, Alabama, is on a 1,850-acre, wooded and agricultural site along the Chattahoochee River in Houston County.

Construction Cost: $4.115 billion (2007 USD)2

Staffing: Approximately 800 employees

Reactor Descriptions: Both Farley units are Westinghouse three-loop pressurized water reactors.

Cooling System: The Joseph Farley facility is cooled using six mechanical draft cooling towers supplied by water from the Chattahoochee River.

2Nuclear Power Plant Construction Activity, DOE/EIA-0473(86), Energy Information Administration, 1986, pp 16-17, Table 5. Adjusted to 2007 Dollars using Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index.

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