TVA names contractors for Clinch River SMR project

Friday, 24 January 2025

The contractors will work with GE Hitachi - designer of the BWRX-300 SMR - and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) as an integrated project team to plan, design, and potentially procure, construct and commission Clinch River Unit 1, the companies said.

The integrated project delivery approach to contracting they will use promotes integration of work processes and is a different approach to that used in previous US nuclear construction projects. TVA Clinch River Project Senior Vice President Bob Deacy said it will make the project a "true" team effort incentivising delivery on time and on budget. "We will actively work together toward a target budget and schedule - creating a significant advantage to drive nuclear innovation, share risks and reduce costs," he said.

The integrated project delivery model is best practice from the construction industry, and has been successfully used for generation projects by Ontario Power Generation (OPG) - which, along with TVA and Polish company Synthos Green Energy, is collaborating with GE Hitachi to develop a standard design for the BWRX-300. OPG is also using the integrated project delivery model for its small modular reactor (SMR) project at its Darlington site in Ontario, Canada.

The integrated project delivery team approach is also said to suit developing the potential for multiple SMRs, and the team scope will also provide preliminary plans with estimated cost reduction forecast as it relates to constructing multiple SMRs to identify innovations and to provide a progression of cost reduction for additional reactors.

Bechtel and TVA have worked together on previous nuclear projects, most recently in the completion of Watts Bar Unit 2 in 2016, and the engineering, construction, and project management company's current portfolio includes large-scale reactors such as the recently completed Vogtle units in the USA and Poland's first nuclear power plant, as well as advanced reactors including the Natrium Advanced Reactor Demonstration Project in the USA.

"We are committed to leveraging our extensive experience and expertise, utilising new tools and innovations, to construct this project. We look forward to continuing our partnership with TVA to deliver new, clean energy," Ahmet Tokpinar, general manager of Bechtel's Nuclear Power business, said.

Sargent & Lundy will lead the detailed design for the site-specific implementation of the BWRX-300 at Clinch River, continuing a 40-year relationship with TVA, Sargent & Lundy Chairman, President and CEO Victor Suchodolski said, adding that the partnership "marks a major step forward for the future of clean, carbon-free nuclear energy in the United States".

The team is now beginning the validation phase, during which TVA will collaborate with Bechtel, Sargent & Lundy and GE Hitachi to jointly develop the cost estimate and schedule for the Clinch River SMR. This is anticipated to be completed within 1-2 years.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission awarded TVA an early site permit for the construction of SMRs at Clinch River in 2019, certifying that the site is suitable for the construction of a nuclear power plant from the point of view of site safety, environmental impact and emergency planning, but without specifying the choice of technology. A separate licence would be required to construct and operate a plant. TVA entered an agreement with GE Hitachi in 2022 to support its planning and preliminary licensing for the potential deployment of a BWRX-300 at the site, which is near Oak Ridge.

TVA's board has yet not voted to approve an SMR at Clinch River, although in August it approved USD150 million in additional advanced funding to support the project, bringing the authority's investment since the February 2022 launch of its New Nuclear Program to USD350 million.

Earlier this month a TVA-led coalition submitted an application for USD800 million in "first mover" funding from the US Department of Energy's Generation III+ SMR programme to support deployment of SMRs. TVA President and CEO Jeff Lyash said this funding, if granted, would accelerate construction of an SMR at Clinch River by two years, with commercial operation planned for 2033.