GE Vernova advances 300 MW reactor design as NRC grants TVA permit
TVA's Clinch River permit lists Oct. 1, 2031, as the earliest construction completion date; a separate operating licence is still required.
Ines Halvorsen
A Sept. 28 construction permit covers the Tennessee Valley Authority's planned 300-megawatt Clinch River unit using GE Vernova Inc. NYSEGEV's BWRX-300 design, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said on Tuesday. GE Vernova's Sept. 29 release gives no equipment price for the 300-megawatt unit or delivery schedule, leaving potential vendor revenue unquantified in that announcement. TVA holds the permit, which sets Sept. 30, 2032 as the latest construction completion date.
GE Vernova shares closed at US$962.49 in New York at 4:00:06 p.m. EDT on Tuesday NYSEGEV.
RTO Insider reported on Sept. 29 that TVA had not set a construction start date and was still negotiating cost sharing with industry partners.
The authorization covers construction of one reactor, but it does not authorize fuel loading or power generation. The NRC said TVA will need a separate operating licence before either can begin, so the permit's construction completion window does not establish a first-power date.
The Permit Sets a Completion Window
The permit identifies the facility as Clinch River Nuclear Unit 1 in Roane County, Tennessee, under docket 50-615. It gives Oct. 1, 2031, as the earliest construction completion date and Sept. 30, 2032, as the latest. Both dates govern construction, while permission to operate is a separate NRC decision.
The NRC found TVA technically and financially qualified to construct the facility under its rules. It also concluded that the site could support a reactor without undue risk to public health and safety, subject to the permit's conditions.
The permit directs TVA to map the geology of excavations for safety-related structures and notify the NRC when that information is ready for review. Condition 3.F requires a one-time augmented volumetric examination of reactor isolation valve bodies, including NPS 2 valves, during construction before initial startup.
"Before loading fuel and starting operations, TVA will need a separate operating license from the NRC," the agency said in its Sept. 29 notice.
TVA filed its construction application in April 2025, according to GE Vernova. The NRC began its review in July 2025 and said on Sept. 29 that it completed the licensing decision in 14 months. Its staff completed a safety evaluation in June 2026, followed by a public hearing in August.
GE Vernova described the BWRX-300 as a 300-megawatt boiling-water reactor intended to reduce construction complexity through a simplified design. Its Sept. 29 statement tied the design to experience from earlier boiling-water reactors.
The construction authorization follows the NRC's 2019 early site permit for Clinch River. That earlier permit addressed the site, while the new one allows TVA to build the unit subject to conditions on the construction work. Before an operating licence can be issued, TVA must submit a complete final safety analysis report for NRC review.
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The next dated construction marker in TVA's permit is Oct. 1, 2031, its earliest completion date. The NRC must issue a separate operating licence before the unit can load fuel and begin generating power.
