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.