Executive order goals: In announcing the selections, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said that they will help advance the goals of President Trump’s executive orders on nuclear energy. “President Trump has made clear that America is going to build more energy, not less, and nuclear is central to that mission,” he said. “Advanced light water SMRs will give our nation the reliable, round-the-clock power we need to fuel the president’s manufacturing boom, support data centers and AI growth, and reinforce a stronger, more secure electric grid. These awards ensure we can deploy these reactors as soon as possible.”
TVA: The federal funding will assist TVA in its plans to deploy a GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 SMR at its Clinch River site in Tennessee, and to deploy other SMRs in partnership with Indiana Michigan Power and Elementl. In addition, the funds will boost TVA’s partnership activities with Scot Forge, North American Forgemasters, BWX Technologies, Aecon, Duke Energy, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, and the Electric Power Research Institute.
TVA president and CEO Don Moul said, “This award affirms TVA’s continued leadership in shaping the nation’s nuclear energy future. With DOE’s support and the strength of our partners, we’re accelerating the deployment of next-generation nuclear—reducing financial risk to consumers and strengthening U.S. energy security. This is how we deliver reliable, affordable energy and real opportunity for American families.”
Holtec: For Holtec, the federal funding will aid plans to deploy two SMR-300 reactors at its Palisades nuclear power plant in Covert, Mich. These reactors have been dubbed Pioneer 1 and 2. Holtec intends the deployment to demonstrate viability for additional SMR-300 orders in the United States and internationally. Holtec is partnering with Hyundai Engineering & Construction on a “one-stop-shop” approach that covers reactor construction, deployment, operation, supply chain, and power selling.
According to a Holtec statement, “The DOE’s support is an essential enabler of the Palisades SMR-300 project, moving it from development to deployment by building on the government’s prior support for Holtec’s SMR technology under the 2020 DOE Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) Risk Reduction for Future Demonstrations to support commercial readiness.”
March solicitation: The DOE’s selections of TVA and Holtec follow up on the March reissuing of a $900 million solicitation to de-risk the deployment of Gen III+ light water SMRs. That funding was originally offered in October 2024 under the Biden administration, but the DOE modified the solicitation to better align the agency’s Gen III+ SMR program with the expressed nuclear energy policies and “energy dominance” goals of the Trump administration.
