The Tennessee Valley Authority remains the first U.S. utility to seek a construction permit for a small modular reactor, and its Clinch River project in Tennessee continues to move through Nuclear Regulatory Commission review in 2026.
TVA is pursuing a 300 MW BWRX-300 unit from GE Vernova Hitachi at the 1,200 acre Clinch River Nuclear site. The utility has said non-nuclear construction could begin in January 2026 or sooner while the commission works through an expected two years of technical review followed by six months of public hearings. TVA is targeting the start of nuclear construction in late 2028 and commissioning by the end of 2032.
The NRC completed its environmental review in October 2025 and issued the final safety evaluation in December 2025, with a permit decision expected during 2026.
Other advanced reactor projects are moving on parallel tracks. NuScale holds the only full NRC design approval for an SMR, covering a 462 MW plant configuration. TerraPower has a construction permit application under active review for its sodium cooled Natrium design. Long Mott Energy selected the X-energy Xe-100 for a facility in Texas, and the commission expects to complete that safety evaluation in November 2026.
Fuel supply remains a dividing line across the field. The BWRX-300 runs on conventional low enriched uranium, while designs from X-energy and Oklo require high assay low enriched uranium, a fuel with far more limited domestic availability.
Source: Utility Dive - https://www.utilitydive.com/news/tva-first-utility-small-modular-reactor-construction-permit/748734/