A proposal submitted at auction to TVA for the unfinished nuclear plant in north Alabama outlines a U.S./Russian partnership that would build more than three dozen nuclear reactors in the Middle East.

That proposal also calls for massive financial investment in Jackson County for the completion of Bellefonte Nuclear Plant. That includes consideration of the area for a $5 billion heavy equipment manufacturing facility.

"Our proposal is entirely different and worth a lot more money to (TVA)," said Alex Copson, managing director for ACU Strategic Partners, the group that submitted the proposal.

TVA has put Bellefonte up for auction - at a minimum of $36.4 million -- and announced last week it received multiple bids in September. The final stage of the auction, with bids submitted by those previously qualified bidders.

The only other confirmed bidder for the plant is Nevada-based Phoenix Energy, which said in September it had submitted a bid for the plant with plans to use the facility as the base for a new, non-nuclear generation method.

The proposal from ACU tosses out giant financial numbers, including more than $20 billion in capital costs at the Bellefonte site over the first 10 years of the project. It also promised total exports of more than $300 billion related to the Middle East nuclear plants over the first 40 years of the project.

ACU also said in the proposal it does not wish to purchase the plant. Instead, it proposes that "TVA transfer Bellefonte to ACU for an equity position in the super consortium" that would build the reactors in the Middle East. ACU said it would provide TVA with a one-time partner fee of $500 million for joining the consortium and supporting activities to move to the second phase of the Middle East project.

The first phase - which would be funded by sources being pursued in the Middle East, the proposal said -- would be for TVA to support completion of Bellefonte. In the second phase, TVA would receive fees up to $1 billion annually as part of the consortium - assuming funding is available, the proposal said.

The deal with TVA is contingent upon ACU's ability to secure funding for the project, the proposal said.

Once the two reactors at Bellefonte are completed, Copson said the plant would serve as a training center for the Middle East construction project.

"Completion of Bellefonte 1 & 2 is very important to the U.S./Russian collaboration to stabilize the Middle East through nuclear power," Copson said. "It's a very good training vehicle to complete those reactors."

TVA has declined to comment on the bidders during the auction process.

"Due to the competitive nature of the process all bids are confidential," the public utility said in a statement to AL.com on Monday. "We cannot discuss specific bidders or submitted bids."

Copson said a U.S./Russian partnership - working together to provide dependable energy to the region - would help stabilize the Middle East.

In an interview with AL.com, Copson repeatedly said "Alabama's two senators" could help pull the project together, though he never mentioned Sens. Richard Shelby or Jeff Sessions by name.

"Alabama senators can help the next (presidential) administration move this project forward," Copson said.

ACU Strategic Partners, based in Washington D.C., does not appear to have a website. Bloomberg.com describes ACU as a "holding company for development of nuclear energy."

In 2015, The Wall Street Journal reported that ACU was leading an international consortium to build as many as 40 nuclear reactors in the Middle East. The report said former members of the Obama administration were skeptical about the project.

Copson was critical of President Obama during the interview with AL.com, saying that the nuclear deal struck last year with Iran was "unnecessary" and could ultimately further unsettle the Middle East.