Clinch River application accepted for review

Friday, 11 July 2025

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted for review the construction permit application from Tennessee Valley Authority for a BWRX-300 small modular reactor at the Clinch River site in Tennessee. The regulator said it expects to complete its review within 17 months.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) submitted its application for Clinch River to the NRC in May, making it the first utility in the USA to submit a construction permit application for GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s BWRX-300 technology.

“This is an exciting step to bringing the nation’s first utility-led SMR online,” said TVA President and 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.”

TVA anticipates preliminary site preparation work could begin as early as next year while the NRC reviews the company’s construction permit application.

TVA has invested in the standard design of the BWRX-300 as part of a technical collaboration agreement with Ontario Power Generation, Polish company Synthos Green Energy and GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy. It is also leading a coalition of utility companies and supply chain partners that has applied for a grant of USD800 million from the US Department of Energy to accelerate construction of the USA’s first small modular reactor, and a USD8 million grant to support the cost of the licence review.

Small modular reactors – SMRs – are reactors with a smaller and more modular design than the USA’s currently operating commercial nuclear fleet. As well as offering safety enhancements, their smaller footprint and modular design means they can potentially be built more quickly, are easier to operate and better fit into the landscape due to their compact size, TVA said.

TVA already holds an early site permit for SMRs at the Clinch River site, certifying that the site near Oak Ridge, Tennessee, is suitable for the construction of a nuclear power plant from the point of view of site safety, environmental impact and emergency planning. It has also completed and submitted an Environmental Report for the project to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and says site preparation for the SMR could begin as soon as 2026.

The BWRX-300 design is a 300 MWe water-cooled, natural circulation SMR with passive safety systems that leverages the design and licensing basis of the ESBWR boiling water reactor developed by GEH. In May, the Canadian province of Ontario approved OPG to start construction of the first of four BWRX-300 units planned at the Darlington New Nuclear Project site.