Tennessee Valley Authority to Be First US Utility to Purchase Power From a Small Modular Reactor

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is the first electric utility in the United States to formally commit to buying power generated by a small modular nuclear reactor, as part of a collaborative pact with Google and Kairos Power unveiled on Aug. 18.

Under the agreement, the California-based reactor manufacturer’s Hermes 2 Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, will deliver up to 50 megawatts of electricity—enough to power 35,000 homes—by 2030 to power Google data centers in Montgomery County, Tennessee, and Jackson County, Alabama.