TVA Lands First US Construction Permit For BWRX-300 Reactor
NRC Approval At Clinch River Moves GE Vernova Hitachi's 300-MW Design Closer To Fleet Deployment
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued the first US construction permit for a BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR), authorizing the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to build the 300-MW unit at its Clinch River site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy developed the reactor.
TVA submitted its construction permit application in April 2025. The project builds on the utility’s existing early site permit and sits next to the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. GE Vernova said the approval reflects early regulatory engagement, an experienced project team, and a mature reactor design.
The BWRX-300 is a boiling water reactor with a simplified configuration intended to reduce construction complexity, building on decades of operating experience with boiling water designs.
Elsewhere in North America, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission issued Ontario Power Generation a license to construct the first BWRX-300 at its Darlington site in April 2025, and construction is underway. Ontario Power Generation submitted its license-to-operate application in March 2026, and it is under review. In September 2026, Blue Energy submitted the first portion of its NRC construction permit application for a BWRX-300 at a gas-plus-nuclear project in Texas.
Eric Gray, chief executive officer (CEO) of GE Vernova’s power segment, credited TVA, the NRC, and the Department of Energy for the collaboration, which he said aligns with federal executive orders aimed at accelerating advanced reactors. Jason Cooper, CEO of GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy, said a standard design and a predictable regulatory process allow developers to carry licensing experience, supply chain capabilities, and lessons learned from one project to the next, which he called essential to building out a fleet in the US.
