Advanced Reactor Highlights - 2025

On December 16, the NRC staff delivered SECY-25-103 “Update on Development of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Advanced Reactor Construction Oversight Program,” which updates the Commission on NRC staff’s development of the Advanced Reactor Construction Oversight Program (ARCOP). This paper specifically provides the staff’s planned approach for advanced reactor construction inspections, inspection finding significance determination process (SDP), enforcement, and project quality assessment. ARCOP development is part of a broader effort to enable the safe use of advanced nuclear technologies in keeping with recent Executive Orders and the ADVANCE Act.

The NRC staff completed a historic milestone in finishing our review of the Construction Permit application for TerraPower's Natrium Reactor near Kemmerer, WY. The safety evaluation and environmental review detail the staff's work, and are representative of the focused effort the NRC has placed on enabling the safe deployment of nuclear power. Learn more.

On December 1, the NRC staff issued its final safety evaluation for the construction permit application submitted by TerraPower, on behalf of its subsidiary US SFR Owner, to build Kemmerer Power Station Unit 1 in Kemmerer, Wyoming. The evaluation concluded that there are no safety aspects that would preclude issuing the construction permit. The staff will provide the safety evaluation and the final environmental impact statement to the Commission for the final phase of the licensing process in the coming weeks. The review was completed under budget and in 18 months, which is 9 months ahead of the initial schedule. Learn more.

On June 18, The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), as the lead agency, and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), as a cooperating agency, have completed a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) in response to a construction permit application submitted by TerraPower, LLC (TerraPower) on behalf of US SFR Owner, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of TerraPower, for Kemmerer Power Station Unit 1. Members of the public are invited to submit comments on the DEIS by August 4, 2025. Please see to view the Federal Register notice. Learn more.

On May 20, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) submitted to NRC the second, and final, part of its construction permit application to build a BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) at the Clinch River Nuclear Site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The NRC staff’s acceptance review of the application is ongoing. Learn More.