A federal decision on the construction permit for the Tennessee Valley Authority's small modular reactor at the Clinch River site near Oak Ridge could arrive months ahead of schedule. Michele Sampson, deputy director of the Office of Advanced Reactors at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, indicated a determination could come by late September or early October 2026.
The application covers a GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 boiling water reactor, and TVA submitted the first US construction permit application for a small modular reactor at a commercial site. The utility has assembled a delivery team that includes Bechtel, Sargent and Lundy, and GE Hitachi for initial construction and design work at Clinch River.
TVA's plans extend past the Oak Ridge site. The utility has identified potential reactor locations in upper Middle Tennessee and in north Alabama, and it has sought roughly 800 million dollars to accelerate its advanced nuclear program. The Department of Energy selected TVA together with Holtec under a program intended to speed US small modular reactor deployment, and TVA has separately arranged capacity agreements with technology customers including Google and reactor developers including Kairos Power and Entra1.
Fuel infrastructure is developing alongside the reactors. Orano has completed a license application for a five billion dollar gas centrifuge uranium enrichment facility at Oak Ridge, known as Project IKE, and submitted an environmental report to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in February. Centrus manufactures centrifuges at its own Oak Ridge plant while expanding high assay low enriched uranium output in Piketon, Ohio.
Source: Knox News via AOL - https://www.aol.com/articles/tvas-nuclear-dreams-extend-beyond-091226000.html