The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has accepted for review a construction permit application from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to build a small modular reactor (SMR). TVA is the first utility applying to build GE Vernova Hitachi’s (GVH’s) BWRX-300 design in the US. TVA submitted its application to NRC in May to build the SMR at its Clinch River site near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. TVA has already secured the first and only early site permit for an SMR with support from the Department of Energy (DOE) to clear the environmental review process.
TVA anticipates preliminary site preparation work could begin as early as next year while the NRC reviews the company’s construction permit application. A full safety review of the reactor design will be required before it is approved for construction.
“This is an exciting step to bringing the nation’s first utility-led SMR online,” said TVA President & CEO Don Moul. “As the first utility in the United States to have a construction permit application under review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the BWRX-300 reactor, this will create a path for other utilities to deploy the reactor ensuring energy security and reliable electricity for all.”
The BWRX-300 is the only boiling water SMR design under development in the US. The 300 MWe light water system is a smaller, simplified version of GE Vernova Hitachi’s licensed Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor and will leverage established supply chains that could accelerate its deployment.
In 2023, TVA joined a global collaboration with Ontario Power Generation (OPG) to expedite technology development of the BWRX-300 for use in the US and Canada. Four reactors were recently cleared for construction at the Darlington New Nuclear Project site in Clarington, Ontario, with commercial operation expected by the end of 2029.
Earlier in July, GVH and Fortum have entered into an Early Works Agreement (EWA) to advance potential deployment of the BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) in Finland and Sweden. Fortum completed a nuclear feasibility study in March and selected the BWRX-300 as one of three technologies being considered for potential deployment in both countries.
