Bellefonte Nuclear Plant in northeast Alabama has been sitting idle for so long, it's been more than 30 years since it came the closest to producing its first watt of electricity.

Now the flirtation has started again with a community update Monday fanning the flicker of hope into a raging fire of excitement over jobs and economic prosperity in a rural region thirsting for "an economic boon," which is what the plant's impact will have, according to U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks.

The TVA plant was bought at auction in 2016 by Nuclear Development for $111 million and the sale is expected to be completed by November.

Is Bellefonte really going to be completed this time?

Above all other discussion and details, that's the most pressing. Work on the plant began in the 1970s and reached the brink of production in the mid-1980s with nuclear fuel even brought on site. Since then, there have been other stops and starts that have teased Jackson County and nearby Scottsboro as the twin giant cooling towers stood sentry over an empty project.

Now in 2018, the project appears to be thundering forward with undeniable momentum. TVA officials are confident the purchase of the plant will be completed by the November deadline. Nuclear Development, shepherded by former U.S. Rep. turned Washington lobbyist Bud Cramer, is jumping through the governmental hoops to secure funding - including more than $2 billion in federal tax credits - and loans from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Brooks said during Monday's event that while hurdles remain, the financing is on track and no problems are anticipated. Cramer described it as being in the "final stages."

So what is the timetable for the project?

Actually, work is already underway to bring the plant to the point of producing electricity. SNC-Lavalin, announced last week as the company chosen to manage completion of the project, has employees on site now doing engineering work to lay the groundwork for completing the plant.

"This is a real project," said Preston Swafford, chief nuclear officer at SNC-Lavalin. "It's no longer in the infancy stages. It's about ready to take the next big step of a full-blown project."

Bill McCollum, CEO of Nuclear Development, said construction could begin next year once the engineering design work is done. McCollum is a former chief operating officer at TVA while Swafford is a former TVA nuclear officer.

Once construction begins, McCollum and Swafford said a five-year window is expected for completion. That means Bellefonte could be generating its first electricity about 50 years after work began on the plant.

Just how many jobs are we talking about?

Lots.

"On an annual basis, in a typical full-year of operation, the plant will employ 1,040 full-time workers with an average salary of $136,000," said Brooks, again citing the University of Alabama study. "And bring an addition 3,136 indirect jobs paying $52,000."

That translates into lots of taxes to be collected for state and local governments.

"Generates $2.4 billion in worker state and local taxes on income, sales and property," Brooks said. "Two point four billion dollars - that's a lot of money."

Speaking of money, how much is it going to cost to pull this off?

Again, lots.

Like most business transactions that include the word "billion," it gets real complicated real fast.

Completing the plant, Swafford and McCollum said, will take at leat $3 billion. That's down from a former TVA estimate of $8 billion, which McCollum said also included the money TVA had already put into the plant.

Nuclear Development is also seeking about $5 billion in loans from the U.S. Department of Energy.

An example of the money involved and the fruits it is expected to bear: SNC-Lavalin already on site doing preliminary work, Swafford said, "largely on our own nickel because we believe in the project. So our company has decided we're going to invest in this and support it as it goes."

Nuclear Development is also in discussions with state officials about incentives that may be available, Cramer said, including grants and tax abatements. Those discussions are in the early stages.

So with all this money on the line, who is going to buy the electricity?

Ah, that's the big mystery.

Yes, Cramer said, there is a customer. No, Cramer said, he's not going to tell you who it is.

"I can't tell you anything about that other than the fact that is a very important fact of life that has to be disclosed to DOE and wherever the negotiations go with the state over incentives, that is being disclosed as well. But they are under (non-disclosure agreements)," Cramer said.

TVA officials have repeatedly said it won't be them. TVA's power demand has plateaued in recent years, spurring them to sell Bellefonte in the first place.

And Cramer said that it's not necessarily anybody in Alabama.

For now, though, that remains secret.