TVA seeks $800M to accelerate advanced nuclear

The Tennessee Valley Authority, in collaboration with a coalition of utilities, industry leaders and state officials, is spearheading efforts to accelerate what may be the nation's first commercial small modular reactor.

The initiative announced Friday aims to secure an $800 million grant from the Department of Energy, primarily to expedite the construction of an SMR project at TVA’s Clinch River Nuclear Site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The project leverages various partners, including major utilities such as Duke Energy, Indiana Michigan Power and American Electric Power; technology firms like GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy; and supply chain contributors including BWX Technologies and Scot Forge.

The push for SMR deployment comes amid a broader resurgence in nuclear energy. Advanced reactors, including SMRs, are increasingly seen by Washington and big technology companies as crucial for securing round-the-clock electricity to run the cloud service data centers powering artificial intelligence. The zero-emissions profile of nuclear power is also viewed favorably by the tech giants aiming to scale up while still achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

With this funding, TVA projects that the Clinch River SMR — about one-quarter the size of conventional reactors — could begin operations as early as 2033, two years ahead of initial schedules.

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TVA's SMR design, GE Hitachi’s BWRX-300, represents a smaller, more adaptable version of traditional nuclear reactors. Unlike most SMR designs, it relies on low-enriched uranium (LEU) rather than high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), simplifying fuel supply logistics and reducing regulatory hurdles.

“Almost half of all TVA-based power produced is nuclear. They use LEU. This model will use LEU. It's a safe model, it's a secure model, it's a provable model,” Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), Oak Ridge’s representative and Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, told POLITICO's E&E News.

The only SMR design certified by the NRC was Generation III and ran on LEU, while no Generation IV or HALEU-powered reactor design has been fully approved.

The DOE grant isn’t a guarantee, and TVA will be competing against other applicants. But Fleischmann, who championed the funding pool, says the project was at the front of his mind when drafting the legislation.

“We specifically funded this project in the fiscal 2024 appropriations bill, and it was almost a Herculean task to get it done,” Fleischmann said. “Clinch River is an ideal site,” he added, noting that the site was designed decades ago to house a nuclear project.

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