Browns Ferry 1 begins Fall 2026 refueling outage

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Browns Ferry 1, Athens, Alabama.

Browns Ferry 1 began a routine refueling outage on September 12, 2026, starting one day later than the scheduled September 11 date. The 1,256-MW General Electric BWR/4 entered the break after completing about 98 percent of its typical 726-day operating cycle.

Operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, the unit entered the refueling outage following an unscheduled-outage-free streak of 142 days and a 2025 capacity factor of 97.8 percent. The historical average for this unit is 32.7 days across nine prior refuels. Across the broader U.S. fleet, capacity factor stands at 92.4 percent for 94 units, with six units currently in outages.

ATHENS, AL. Refueling activities began at Browns Ferry 1 on Sep 12, 2026. The published schedule had a Sep 11, 2026 start; actual is 1 day later than planned. Planned outage length is 29 days (back to service around Oct 10, 2026).

NukeWorker's start-date projection scores 100% accuracy for this unit.

Across the U.S. fleet of 94 commercial reactors, today's combined capacity factor is 92.4% (5 units currently refueling, 1 unit in an unscheduled outage), below the 92.8% baseline for this month over the past five years. At the same site, Browns Ferry 2 and Browns Ferry 3 are both running at full power. Vogtle 2 and FitzPatrick also began refueling outages within the past week. With the unit offline for refueling, that takes about 1 million homes' worth of generation off the grid.

Browns Ferry 1 is a 1,256-MW General Electric BWR/4 operated by Tennessee Valley Authority (commercial operation since 1974). The utility operates 6 other U.S. nuclear units. Its operating license runs through 2053 (renewed in 2025). The unit ran at a 97.8% capacity factor in 2025, among the unit's strongest cycles.

Heading to Athens, AL for outage work? Current per-diem averages $110/night lodging plus $68/day meals (total $178/day), and Unemployment Benefits are $275 weekly. See open nuclear jobs in Alabama on NukeWorker.

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Sources: NRC Daily Reactor Power Status reports, utility-published outage schedules, and NukeWorker's projections.