GE Vernova's BWRX‑300 advances as NRC permits TVA's Clinch River unit
TVA's Clinch River permit took effect Sept. 28; GE Vernova's Sept. 29 release states no equipment price or delivery date.
Ines Halvorsen
On Sept. 28, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued TVA a construction permit for one 300-megawatt BWRX-300 reactor at Clinch River, marking a U.S. licensing milestone for GE Vernova Inc. NYSEGEV. The permit covers one reactor, while GE Vernova's Sept. 29 release gives no dollar figure for equipment supply or construction. TVA holds the permit and is the prospective operator; the Sept. 29 release does not report a signed supply contract or contract term.
The NYSEGEV quote page showed GE Vernova shares at US$989.76 at 2:26 p.m. EDT on Oct. 2. The NRC announced its Sept. 28 decision on Sept. 29, so the Oct. 2 quote alone does not establish how the market valued the permit.
The BWRX-300 is GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy's 300-megawatt reactor design. The company calls Clinch River the first U.S. construction permit for that design, a regulatory step for TVA's planned unit rather than a disclosed equipment sale. The Sept. 29 release gives no construction start or first-power target and reports no reactor-supply order.
“A standard design, combined with a predictable and efficient regulatory environment, allows us to apply common technology, licensing experience, supply chain capabilities and lessons learned from one project to the next,” Jason Cooper, chief executive of GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy, said in the release.
TVA Still Needs an Operating Licence
The Sept. 28 permit took effect upon issuance and identifies Clinch River Nuclear Unit 1 as the unit TVA may construct. The regulator's Sept. 29 notice says TVA must obtain a separate operating licence before loading fuel or starting operations. The construction permit does not authorize generation.
TVA applied for the construction permit in April 2025, after receiving an early site permit for Clinch River in 2019. The NRC's Sept. 29 account says formal review began in July 2025 and took 14 months. Its staff completed a safety evaluation in June 2026, and the agency held a public hearing in August before issuing the construction permit.
The Sept. 29 GE Vernova release does not report a signed reactor equipment purchase, its price, a shipment date or how TVA would divide construction costs. It also gives no electricity price per megawatt-hour; a construction permit does not set one. Those omissions leave equipment revenue and project spending unquantified in the announcement, even as TVA gains the authority to build the unit.
The permit authorizes TVA to construct Unit 1 at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Neither that document nor GE Vernova's Sept. 29 release gives a date for excavation, equipment delivery or a signed supply award. The operating licence remains a separate NRC decision before the proposed reactor can produce power.
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The permit lists Oct. 1, 2031 as the earliest construction-completion date. It gives Sept. 30, 2032 as the latest. TVA's construction start and any GE Vernova equipment award remain undated in the documents reviewed; TVA still needs an NRC operating licence before loading fuel.
