The advanced small modular reactor (SMR) project at the Clinch River Nuclear site in Oak Ridge is moving forward “as we submit a letter of intent to the NRC, letting them know that we plan to submit a construction permit application and environmental report documents this summer”, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), said in a post on X.
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) confirmed in a Notification of Intent that TVA intends to submit a construction permit application (CPA) to licence construction of a GE-Hitachi BWRX-300 SMR at its Clinch River Nuclear Site (CRN Site). According to the notification, it plans to submit the first part of the application, including the Clinch River Nuclear Site Environmental Report, this month and the remainder “by June 2025”.
“As communicated previously, the TVA Board has not yet authorised the deployment of a SMR at the CRN Site. TVA’s submittal of the CPA is an important step to de-risk the licensing aspect of a potential, future SMR deployment,” NRC noted. “Any decisions about deployment will be subject to support, risk-sharing, required internal and external approvals, and completion of necessary environmental and permitting reviews.”
In an interview published on TVA’s website, Senior Vice President of the Clinch River Project Bob Deacy confirmed plans to submit the CPA by June 2025. “That is a procedural way of saying we gave the NRC, the nuclear regulator, a formal heads-up that TVA plans to move to the next step in the NRC’s licensing process very soon,” he said.
In 2019, NRC awarded TVA an early site permit for the construction of SMRs at Clinch River in 2019. This certified that safety, environmental impact and emergency planning criteria were satisfied for NPP construction, but no technology was specified. In 2022 TVA signed an agreement with GE Hitachi (GEH) to support the planning and preliminary licensing for potential deployment of a BWRX-300 at clinch River.
In January this year, a TVA-led coalition including GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy applied for $800m in funding from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Generation III+ SMR programme to support the deployment of SMRs at Clinch River. TVA CEO Jeff Lyash said the funding would accelerate SMR construction by two years, with commercial operation planned for 2033.
TVA’s partners include Bechtel, BWX Technologies, Duke Energy, the Electric Power Research Institute, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Indiana Michigan Power, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Sargent & Lundy, Scot Forge, and North American Forgemasters.
TVA is also working with GEH, Canadian utility Ontario Power Generation and Poland’s Synthos Green Energy through a technology collaboration agreement signed in 2023 that will develop the standard design for the BWRX-300.
The BWRX-300 is a scaled down version of the GE-Hitachi ESBWR, a 1,500 MW BWR design which was licensed by the NRC a decade ago. It is a 300 MWe water-cooled, natural circulation BWR type SMR with a passive safety system. GEH says that, using a combination of modular and open-top construction techniques, the Nth-of-a-kind BWRX-300 can be constructed in 24-36 months. The reactor uses low enriched uranium oxide fuel in the range of 3.81% (avg)/4.95% (max). The refuelling cycle is 12-24 months.
In his interview, Bob Deacy said the CPA is essentially the roadmap for the plant’s design and safety systems, and we have to have the NRC’s approval on the plans. “This is a big deal because TVA will be the first to file a construction permit application for the BWRX-300, a design General Electric is developing in collaboration with TVA and an international consortium of utilities. TVA continues to evaluate the BWRX-300, as well as other SMR technology, as the standard design continues to mature.”
According to Deacy, TVA’s Board of Directors has authorised up to $350m for the CPA, activities related to potential, future deployment of an advanced reactor at the Clinch River Nuclear Site – including completion of the standard design of a small modular reactor – and engineering support and activities to study potential, future deployment of advanced reactors of various designs at various sites. He confirmed that TVA was applying for a $800m DOE grant with a number of other entities, noting that Congress appropriated this funding in 2024 to support the deployment of an SMR.
“If we receive the DOE funding, we’d be able to roll into site-specific engineering. It may also allow us to procure some long lead items and do grading of the site itself. We’re working with DOE to help offset the cost so we don’t burden our customers with first-of-a-kind costs, because this is a first-of-a-kind plant, even though it’s based on proven technology. It stands to benefit the energy security of the entire country.”
Deacy said TVA needs to make sure it can deliver uninterrupted, reliable, resilient power. “That’s the mission, loud and clear. With all these data centres and AI centres, the growth we’re seeing in our sector is incredible. We need to continue to develop new projects that not only deliver power to all our existing customers, but also accommodate new customers. We have to power all the economic development projects that are coming into this region.”
