The Tennessee Valley Authority has successfully completed its testing of key operating equipment for its Watts Bar Unit 2 nuclear reactor, clearing the way for additional tests of safety and containment systems before fuel is scheduled to be loaded in the new reactor this fall.

TVA said today that the latest round of tests, called hot functional testing, demonstrated equipment performed as designed and marks the first time nearly 60 important systems operated together. Over a period of eight weeks, operators used the heat generated by plant equipment to increase the temperature and pressure of systems to normal operating levels. The unit's main turbine was also rolled up to normal operating speed using the plant's steam.

"Successful completion of these tests demonstrates the key operational readiness of Watts Bar Unit 2 in preparation to load fuel," Mike Skaggs, senior vice president for Watts Bar Operations and Construction, said in a statement today. "Good work by our team has brought us to where we are today as we validate the unit's ability to operate safely and the station's readiness for dual-unit operation."

Hot functional testing is a critical pre-operational requirement leading up to TVA requesting an operating license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. That license is required before fuel can be loaded into the reactor.

NRC commissioners have voted to grant TVA an operating license for Watts Bar Unit 2, provided that staff certifies that the plant and its staff are ready. TVA expects to begin generating power from the new reactor by the end of 2015.

TVA officials said the data gathered from the most recent testing builds on information documented from earlier testing milestones open vessel testing, cold hydrostatic testing and secondary hydrostatic testing further ensures that Watts Bar Unit 2 systems will support safe operation as designed and according to established NRC regulations.

TVA will next conduct additional testing focusing on the integrity of primary containment and important safety-related equipment, such as emergency diesel generators.

Located near Spring City, Tenn., Watts Bar Unit 2 is approximately 99 percent complete and remains on target to become the first new nuclear generation of the 21st century. When online, it will produce 1,150 megawatts of carbon-free electricity. Combined with the output of the operational Unit 1, the Watts Bar plant will then meet the power needs of 1.3 million homes.