US NRC approves TVA construction permit for first commercial small modular reactor
NRC approved a construction permit for TVA to build a 300-megawatt GE Vernova Hitachi boiling-water small modular reactor at Clinch River in Roane County, Tennessee.
(Adds details in paragraphs 3-5) Sept 29 (Reuters) — The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved a construction permit for the Tennessee Valley Authority to build the nation's first commercial small modular reactor at its Clinch River site in Roane County, Tennessee, the agency said on Tuesday. "TVA plans to build a 300-megawatt GE Vernova Hitachi boiling-water reactor to help meet growing regional power demand," the agency said in a statement. Boiling-water reactors use heat from nuclear fission to boil water inside the reactor vessel, producing steam that directly powers a turbine to generate electricity.
The project received its construction permit after the NRC completed a 14-month review, marking the agency's second major reactor approval this year, it said. TVA will need a separate NRC operating license before loading fuel and beginning operations, the agency said. TVA previously received an early site permit for the Clinch River site in 2019. com;)