NRC holds first-of-kind hearing on Clinch River SMR permit

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission held a mandatory, uncontested hearing on August 13 on TVA's construction permit application for the Clinch River BWRX-300 small modular reactor, the first time the agency has used its new streamlined public hearing process for a construction permit review. NRC staff had already recommended approval in a June 2026 safety evaluation; the hearing record stays open until August 27 before commissioners issue a final permit decision.