Momentum building around global deployment of BWRX-300 nuclear plant, says developer GVH
Federally owned utility Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has submitted an application to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to construct a GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GVH) BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) at the Clinch River site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee – the first construction permit application for a BWRX-300 in the US.
TVA has invested in the design of the BWRX-300 as part of a technical collaboration agreement with GVH, Canadian power company Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and Poland-based nuclear developer Synthos Green Energy.
Synthos plans to deploy a fleet of SMRs in Poland and other central and eastern European countrues. In 2023 Poland’s Ministry of Climate and Environment issued decisions-in-principle for the construction of BWRX-300 SMRs at six locations. A total of 24 BWRX-300 reactors are planned at the sites.
TVA, which owns and operates the Sequoyah and Watts Bar nuclear stations in Tennessee and the Browns Ferry nuclear station in Alabama, is also leading a coalition of utility companies and supply chain partners that has applied for an $800m (€712m) US Department of Energy (DOE) grant to accelerate construction of the nation’s first SMR.
GVH said in a statement that momentum is continuing to build around the global deployment of the BWRX-300.
Earlier this month, the province of Ontario and OPG announced approval to proceed with construction of the first BWRX-300 at OPG’s existing Darlington nuclear power station site near Toronto. A total of four BWRX-300s are planned for the site with construction of the first unit to be complete by the end of the decade.
Only a handful of SMRs have been completed and only in Russia and China. The Darlington project is expected to be the first to be deployed in the developed Group of Seven countries.
In January, Duke Energy said it had entered into an agreement to invest in activities to advance the standard design and licensing of the BWRX-300 SMR.
Duke said American Electric Power had selected the BWRX-300 for potential deployment at the Indiana Michigan Power Rockport Plant, a coal-fired facility, in Spencer County, Indiana, pending approval of the DOE funding request that TVA is leading.
Technology Is Advanced And Real’
Canadian utility SaskPower has chosen the BWRX-300 for potential deployment in Saskatchewan, subject to a decision to build expected in 2029.
“TVA’s investment in the standard design of the BWRX-300 technology will accelerate its deployment, helping meet the rising demand for energy and enhancing energy security,” said Craig Ranson, GVH’s president and chief executive officer.
“This milestone, in addition to this month’s decision by the Province of Ontario to build the western world’s first SMR, demonstrates that this technology is advanced and real.”
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, more than 80 commercial SMR designs are under development with a number of countries planning deployment. Designs are being developed for applications including electricity generation, heating and water desalination. Most are designed to factory built and easily deployed where needed.
The BWRX-300 is a 300-MW water-cooled, natural circulation SMR with passive safety systems. It is based on an existing boiling water reactor design – the ESBWR – that is licensed in the US. It also uses an existing, licensed fuel design.
The Clinch River Nuclear Site is owned by TVA. It was originally the site of the Clinch River breeder reactor project, for which funding was erminated by Congress in 1983.
A rendering of an SMR plant at the Clinch River site. Courtesy TVA.
