TVA Says Nuclear is Less Talk, More Action
Scott Hunnewell of the Tennessee Valley Authority discusses how nuclear is moving from talking about nuclear to actually building nuclear.
At POWERGEN 2025, Scott Hunnewell, VP of New Nuclear Program of the Tennessee Valley Authority, spoke with Turbomachinery International about the latest trends and advancements in new demonstration reactors, the biggest hurdles or policy constraints in the way of U.S. nuclear buildout, and about shutdowns and license renewals.
TURBO: What are the latest trends and advancements in new demonstration reactors?
Hunnewell: The latest trend that you're seeing is an actual movement from a lot of talk about nuclear to actually building nuclear. Kairos Power in Oakridge, Tennessee has their construction permit, and they've broken ground on their Hermes test reactor. Then you TerraPower’s natrium reactor—they’ve submitted a construction permit application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and they, too, have broken ground for the non-nuclear part of their nuclear plant.
TURBO: What are the biggest hurdles or policy constraints in the way of U.S. nuclear buildout?
Hunnewell: I don't think there are really any policy constraints; there's nothing in policy space that prevents us from building nuclear plants. There may be things in policy space that we could improve and help efficiencies; the biggest hurdle is the business case: the first-of-a-kind risk of a new technology, when you know that it's going to cost more money to build than that nth of a kind plant. So, that's where policy can help offset that risk: help invest in those first one, two, or three of a kind nuclear plant to reduce cost.
