The Watts Bar Unit 2 reactor became the first new U.S. nuclear plant in 20 years to go into commercial operation on Wednesday after the Tennessee Valley Authority tested it at full power for more than three weeks.
The Spring Hill, Tennessee nuclear plant operated reliably during the test, said the TVA, adding that Watts Bar 2 is its seventh unit in operation supplying energy to more than 4.5 million homes.
"TVA's mission is to make life better in the Valley by providing reliable, low-cost energy, protecting our area's natural resources and working to attract business and growth – all priorities simultaneously supported by the completion of Watts Bar Unit 2," said TVA CEO Bill Johnson.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press said the reactor will have slightly higher incremental costs for the power it generates than what the authority currently has, but TVA officials said the new unit should ultimately lower TVA energy costs.
The Free Press said the plant's startup ends a 43-year effort to build and get the nuclear facility operational.
The Hill noted that the reactor's construction started in 1973, put on hold in 1985 but restarted in 2007, finishing at a cost of $4.7 billion.
Watts Bar 2 is the first reactor to meet stiffer standards applied by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission after the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011, said The Hill.
Four other nuclear reactors could go online within the next four years, according to the federal Energy Information Administration..
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.