By admin 
Reston, Virginia-based Bechtel, alongside contractor Sargent & Lundy and nuclear power firm GE Hitachi, won a contract to support initial planning and evaluation for the first small modular reactor at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Clinch River Nuclear site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
The scale of the contract is for planning and evaluation, which could potentially extend to procuring, construction and commissioning, according to a Jan. 23 news release from the authority. The total cost of the build could reach $5.4 billion, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. Costs for additional reactors at the site, if built, would likely be lower once the first unit is in place.
Bechtel, with Chicago-based Sargent & Lundy and GE Hitachi of Wilmington, North Carolina, will work together with the TVA under an integrated project delivery approach, which the TVA claimed will align all parties in a unified plan, per the release.
“The integrated project delivery model is the preferred method that will make our project a true team effort,” said Bob Deacy, the TVA senior vice president on the Clinch River Project, in the release. “We will actively work together toward a target budget and schedule – creating a significant advantage to drive nuclear innovation, share risks and reduce costs.”
Bechtel and TVA have worked together on other nuclear projects over the years, most recently in completing construction of Watts Bar Unit 2 in Rhea County, Tennessee, in 2016. Through the integrated project delivery method, TVA claims that Bechtel will provide valuable insights from its breadth of experience in constructing nuclear facilities.
While the value of the planning contract wasn’t disclosed, the TVA is seeking $800 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Generation III+ Small Modular Reactor Program, according to a Jan. 17 news release, which said the grant, if awarded, would help speed the build. Officials plan for the plant to become commercially operational in 2033, according to the News Sentinel.
Bechtel has been active in other nuclear work. In June 2024, the contractor broke ground on a $4 billion, Bill Gates-backed nuclear reactor in Kemmerer, Wyoming. Further back, in 2023, the $30 billion Bechtel-built Vogtle Unit 3 opened in Georgia, after the builder took over work in 2017. The plant was the first new atomic power unit built in the U.S. in over 30 years.