GE Vernova secures first U.S. permit for small nuclear reactor in Tennessee

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a construction permit late September for a new type of nuclear reactor manufactured by GE Vernova’s nuclear venture, boosting the company’s power segment and reflecting heightened public and regulatory support for U.S. nuclear development.

The Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation’s largest federally-owned utility, received the permit to construct a GE supplied BWRX-300 small modular reactor at its Clinch River facility, west of Knoxville. The BWRX-300 is a product of GE Vernova’s joint venture with the Japanese engineering company Hitachi.

“This is a milestone for TVA and GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy, and an important moment for new nuclear in the United States,” said Eric Gray, CEO of GE Vernova’s power segment.

Amid skyrocketing energy demand from AI data centers, nuclear power has seen a resurgence in the United States in recent years. For GE Vernova, one of the biggest players in U.S. energy infrastructure, this approval represents an advancement in scaling its domestic nuclear capacity to complement its other offerings, such as gas turbines and wind power.

The Tennessee Valley Authority first began planning for small modular reactors at Clinch River a decade ago, and it entered into a technical collaboration agreement with GE-Hitachi in 2023 to develop the common design for the BWRX-300. Also part of that agreement was Ontario Power Generation, a Canadian utility whose permit to construct a BWRX-300 was approved last year, the first such approval in North America.

The Tennessee Valley Authority also received a $400 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to support its development of nuclear infrastructure, reflecting federal support for an advanced nuclear buildout. Last year, a survey from Bisconti Research in May, public approval of nuclear energy is back at a record high, with 77% favoring and 23% opposed. Additionally, 70% of those polled said that they would find it acceptable to add a new small modular reactor next to a power plant closest to where they live.

Small, next-generation reactors like the BWRX-300 are intended to address the concerns surrounding nuclear developments’ exorbitantly high costs and construction time. And although the first BWRX-300 is estimated to cost around $5.4 billion for 300 kilowatt-hours, considerably more expensive than a similar gas-fired plant, the expectation is that future small modular reactors will cost less as the authority learns from the experience.

“Fleet deployment is essential to scaling nuclear energy in the United States,” said Jason Cooper, CEO of GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy. “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.”