TVA defends leadership amid GOP criticism of nuclear power plant plans

HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. — The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is preparing for the possible production of nuclear power.

But some Republican lawmakers are pushing back on what they see as hesitancy within the organization.

Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty published an op-ed criticizing TVA leadership and calling on the agency to execute their plan.

The TVA says they're currently in the planning phase of a process that would build a new nuclear power plant.

They say this plant would be based on the use of small modular reactors or SMRs.

Scott Fielder with TVA says they are currently evaluating the Clinch River project and will not proceed unless all criteria are met.

"We're the first with an early site permit up at Clinch River. So we have a site ready."

SMR technology is something TVA wants not just for the state...

"We're working on the design with Vernova, and also have partnerships around the world, with Canada and Poland."

But for the country....

"If America is not leading in nuclear technology, then our allies are going to look elsewhere, to Russia and China for that, and that's just not an option," Fielder says.

TVA tells us they're leading the nation when it comes to SMR technology, and they're currently in phase one of that planning process.

But according to an op-ed published in Power Magazine, some U.S. senators worry about how capable TVA leadership is.

In the op-ed, Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty say...

"The presidentially appointed, senate-confirmed, TVA board of directors lacks the talent, experience, and gravitas to meet a challenge that clearly requires visionary industrial leaders. The group looks more like a collection of political operatives than visionary industrial leaders."

We reached out to TVA about those concerns.

"The TVA board is appointed by the president and confirmed by the senate, so any additional information on that process should go to the administration and also to the senators," Fielder says.

And they aren't far off from making the progress those senators want to see.

"Later on this year, we're looking to be ready to file an NRC construction application permit, which will help move this project forward."

We reached out to both Senators Blackburn and Hagerty, however neither wished to comment beyond what was said in the op-ed.

Congressman Chuck Fleishmann responded to the op-ed on Facebook, saying...

"As a supporter of TVA, I encourage the agency to work closely with our great Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, as well as President Trump's Administration, to expand new nuclear and deploy next-generation small modular nuclear reactors."