The Tennessee Valley Authority submitted a construction permit application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build a BWRX-300 small modular reactor at its Clinch River site near Oak Ridge, Tennessee, making TVA the first US utility to apply to build the design.
NRC has docketed the application, which moves it into formal technical review. The BWRX-300 is a 300 megawatt boiling water design developed by GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy, derived from a larger certified reactor in an effort to shorten licensing and construction timelines.
NRC is expected to issue licensing decisions on the first two commercial SMR construction permits during 2026, a threshold event for a sector that has operated on design approvals and paper studies.
Other US programs have advanced in parallel. TerraPower received NRC approval in March for construction of its first Natrium plant and energy storage system in Kemmerer, Wyoming. The liquid sodium cooled Natrium design can supply up to 500 megawatts and has begun non nuclear construction at a retiring coal plant site.
NuScale Power received NRC design approval for its 50 megawatt module in 2023 and for an uprated 77 megawatt version in May 2025. Its commercialization partner ENTRA1 reached a nonbinding collaborative agreement with TVA to deploy up to 6 gigawatts of NuScale capacity across the utility's seven state service territory.
International participants are entering the US market as well. South Korean construction management firm HanmiGlobal is forming a project development company to handle planning, licensing, engineering, procurement, construction and grid connection for US SMR projects.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy - https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/nrc-dockets-construction-permit-application-tva-small-modular-reactor