The US Department of Energy has selected Tennessee Valley Authority and Holtec to each receive 400 million dollars in cost shared federal funding to support early deployments of advanced light water small modular reactors. The May 2026 awards mark a concrete federal step toward bringing the next generation of US reactors online.

TVA's funding will accelerate deployment of the nation's first Generation III+ small modular reactor at its Clinch River site in East Tennessee, where the utility plans to advance a GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 unit. Holtec plans to deploy two SMR-300 reactors at the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station site in Covert, Michigan, a project intended to demonstrate viability for additional orders at home and abroad.

The awards reflect a federal strategy of sharing early deployment costs to move SMR designs from licensing into construction. Both projects use light water technology, the most established reactor type, which can shorten the regulatory and operational learning curve compared with more novel designs.

State level activity has reinforced the federal push, with small modular reactor laws gaining traction across both Republican and Democratic states. The combination of federal cost sharing and state programs gives developers clearer footing. The Clinch River and Palisades projects now stand as leading test cases for whether SMRs can reach commercial operation on schedule in the United States.

Source: World Nuclear News -- https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/two-smr-projects-selected-for-us-federal-funding