{"id":"22db926f-8349-4845-9953-e297e7e4c377","slug":"nrc-clinch-river-bwrx-300-construction-permit-2026","kind":"permit","headline":"NRC issues TVA Clinch River Unit 1 BWRX-300 construction permit (first U.S. commercial SMR CP for design; 14-month review)","summary":"On Sep 29 2026 the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a construction permit to the Tennessee Valley Authority for Clinch River Unit 1, a GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy BWRX-300 small modular reactor (~300 MW) at TVA's Clinch River Nuclear Site near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. NRC says this is the nation's first commercial small modular reactor construction permit of this kind and that the safety-focused review finished in 14 months, ahead of schedule (second advanced reactor construction permit in the U.S. after TerraPower). TVA previously held an early site permit for the site (2019). A separate NRC operating license is still required before fuel load and operations; no construction start date has been announced. Energy-for-AI / large-load relevance: TVA and federal officials framed advanced nuclear as supporting regional demand and national energy/AI infrastructure goals.","locationId":"bc895018-a2f1-414c-bddb-6e1d12281629","effectiveAt":"2026-09-29T12:00:00.000Z","expiresAt":null,"reviewStatus":"unreviewed","formFactors":[],"jurisdiction":"United States (federal NRC construction permit; Oak Ridge / Clinch River, Tennessee)","complianceDeadline":null,"enforcementEvents":null,"aliases":[],"collisionRisk":"none","reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-09-29T20:55:32.418Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-29T20:55:32.418Z","location":{"id":"bc895018-a2f1-414c-bddb-6e1d12281629","name":"Oak Ridge","slug":"oak-ridge-tennessee","kind":"city","parentLocationId":"83c16b58-9e81-4b9b-bdd4-e701f86df371","region":"Tennessee","lat":36.0103562,"lng":-84.2696449,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","aliases":[],"collisionRisk":"high","reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-08-19T12:33:08.779Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-21T03:20:12.226Z"},"derived":{"status":"in_effect"},"sources":[{"id":"cb9dbee3-3c5c-4645-8ee2-4648be5851e3","regulationId":"22db926f-8349-4845-9953-e297e7e4c377","url":"https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/news-releases/2026/26-079","label":null,"publishedAt":"2026-09-29T12:00:00.000Z","notes":null,"title":"NRC Approves Construction of Nation's First Small Modular Reactor","sourceName":"U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-09-29T20:55:32.418Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-29T20:55:32.418Z"},{"id":"8f083b1b-1296-47b7-8079-863fcc84f6b5","regulationId":"22db926f-8349-4845-9953-e297e7e4c377","url":"https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/advanced/who-were-working-with/applicant-projects/clinch-river.html","label":null,"publishedAt":"2026-09-29T12:00:00.000Z","notes":null,"title":"Clinch River Nuclear Site Application","sourceName":"U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-09-29T20:55:32.418Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-29T20:55:32.418Z"},{"id":"a0b8580b-aaf3-4832-ab72-33ad7848befc","regulationId":"22db926f-8349-4845-9953-e297e7e4c377","url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tva-first-us-utility-to-receive-construction-permit-for-bwrx-300-advanced-nuclear-reactor-302893324.html","label":null,"publishedAt":"2026-09-29T12:00:00.000Z","notes":null,"title":"TVA First U.S. Utility to Receive Construction Permit for BWRX-300 Advanced Nuclear Reactor","sourceName":"PR Newswire (Tennessee Valley Authority)","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-09-29T20:55:32.418Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-29T20:55:32.418Z"},{"id":"823721cc-237f-462d-bf4d-84f0abbb8268","regulationId":"22db926f-8349-4845-9953-e297e7e4c377","url":"https://x.com/NRCgov/status/2104974977984287190","label":null,"publishedAt":"2026-09-29T16:41:57.000Z","notes":null,"title":"NRC: first-ever U.S. commercial SMR construction permit completed in 14 months","sourceName":"X (@NRCgov)","mediaType":"social","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-09-29T20:55:32.418Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-29T20:55:32.418Z"}],"statusEvents":[{"id":"67cd73ef-e34a-4631-9da0-c940dcda7296","regulationId":"22db926f-8349-4845-9953-e297e7e4c377","status":"active","reason":"NRC issued construction permit for TVA Clinch River Unit 1 BWRX-300 on Sep 29 2026. Construction permit only; operating license still required.","source":"editor:digest-1pm-sep29-2026","effectiveAt":"2026-09-29T12:00:00.000Z","createdAt":"2026-09-29T20:55:32.418Z"}],"jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Legislation","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/regulations/nrc-clinch-river-bwrx-300-construction-permit-2026","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/regulations/nrc-clinch-river-bwrx-300-construction-permit-2026","name":"NRC issues TVA Clinch River Unit 1 BWRX-300 construction permit (first U.S. commercial SMR CP for design; 14-month review)","description":"On Sep 29 2026 the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a construction permit to the Tennessee Valley Authority for Clinch River Unit 1, a GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy BWRX-300 small modular reactor (~300 MW) at TVA's Clinch River Nuclear Site near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. NRC says this is the nation's first commercial small modular reactor construction permit of this kind and that the safety-focused review finished in 14 months, ahead of schedule (second advanced reactor construction permit in the U.S. after TerraPower). TVA previously held an early site permit for the site (2019). A separate NRC operating license is still required before fuel load and operations; no construction start date has been announced. Energy-for-AI / large-load relevance: TVA and federal officials framed advanced nuclear as supporting regional demand and national energy/AI infrastructure goals.","identifier":"22db926f-8349-4845-9953-e297e7e4c377","legislationDate":"2026-09-29T12:00:00.000Z","legislationApplies":{"@type":"Place","name":"Oak Ridge"},"publisher":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"}},"framework_metadata":{"framework_schema_version":"0.1.0","verification_status":"unreviewed","maturity_stage":null,"lifecycle_state":null,"architectural_position":{"cohort":null,"sub_cohorts":[]},"within_cohort_verified_vs_claimed_pair":null,"cap_flags":[],"verification_depth":{"sources_count":4,"primary_source_types":[]}}}