The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a permit on 29 September 2026 for the construction of a small modular reactor at the Clinch River site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
This is the country's first construction permit for a commercial small modular reactor. The project is being carried out by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a state-owned energy company.
The BWRX-300 reactor with a capacity of 300 megawatts was developed by GE Vernova Hitachi. It is a boiling water reactor and is intended to help meet the region's growing demand for electricity.
The review of the application took 14 months — four months faster than the planned timeframe. The NRC began its formal review in July 2025, and in June 2026 it completed the safety assessment.
In August, public hearings were held in Oak Ridge. NRC Chair Ho K. Nie noted that the decision demonstrates the agency's ability to make rigorous and well-founded safety decisions.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee called the Clinch River project a new stage in the state's innovation, one that will strengthen the country's energy security.
The construction permit is an important step, but TVA will still need a separate operating license before loading fuel and starting the reactor.
The Clinch River site already had an early site permit issued in 2019. It is located next to the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Could this permit accelerate the emergence of similar projects across the country?
TVA has not yet announced a construction start date and continues work on engineering details and cost allocation.
