The Tennessee Valley Authority will receive a landmark permit to build an advanced nuclear reactor along the Clinch River in Oak Ridge.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will approve a construction permit for TVA’s small modular reactor Sept. 29, according to a joint news release from TVA and the NRC, the nation’s main nuclear regulator.
The permit will mark just the second approval in the U.S. for a commercial advanced reactor and the first for the GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 small modular reactor design TVA selected.
The approval comes months ahead of schedule. The regulatory commission has cut approval timelines for a number of projects since the beginning of President Donald Trump's second administration, which has stressed a preference
for faster approvals in executive orders on energy.
TVA, a federal utility that serves millions of ratepayers across seven states, will still need a license to operate the reactor once it completes construction work, NRC spokesperson Scott Burnell told Knox News in August.
Small modular reactors generate 300 or fewer megawatts electricity, and their backers say they’ll be faster and simpler to build than traditional power producers like the ones TVA maintains at its three nuclear plants in Tennessee and Alabama.
The reactors have attracted interest across the nuclear industry in recent years. Energy leaders have formed plans for small modular reactors across the world and in East Tennessee, a growing nuclear hub.
Mariah Franklin reports on technology and energy for Knox News. Email: mariah.franklin@knoxnews.com. Signal: mariahfranklin.01
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Approval to build Oak Ridge nuclear reactor comes ahead of schedule for TVA
