Clinch River Nuclear Site early site permit (ESP-006): NRC early site permit review for Tennessee Valley Authority — issued, 35.6 months from docketing to decision. Sourced dates and schedule.
Background: NRC reactor licensing process, explained · The ADVANCE Act, explained: what changed and where the NRC stands
Current state
| Type | Early site permit |
| Outcome | Issued |
| Applicant | Tennessee Valley Authority |
| Facility | Clinch River Nuclear Site (Oak Ridge, Tennessee) |
| Docket | 52-047 |
| Submitted | 2016-05-12 |
| Docketed (accepted for review) | 2016-12-30 |
| NRC planned schedule | — |
| NRC target date | — |
| Final safety evaluation | 2019-06-14 |
| Decision | 2019-12-19 |
| Review time (docketed → decision) | 35.6 mo |
| Submitted → decision | 43.2 mo |
| NRC-reported review duration | — |
| NRC-reported resources vs estimate | — |
Review time is measured in average months from the date the NRC docketed the application to the decision. The NRC's own reported durations may measure to the final safety evaluation instead.
Notes
Pre-ADVANCE baseline. Supplemental information after the May 2016 submittal delayed docketing ~7.5 months.
Timeline
- 2016-05-12 — Application received: “The NRC received the ESP application on May 12, 2016, and docketed it on December 30, 2016.” (source)
- 2016-12-30 — Accepted for review (docketed): “The NRC received the ESP application on May 12, 2016, and docketed it on December 30, 2016.” (source)
- 2019-06-14 — Final safety evaluation issued. (source)
- 2019-08-14 — Commission mandatory hearing. (source)
- 2019-12-19 — Issued: “Accordingly, the early site permit (ESP-006) was issued on December 19, 2019 and became effective immediately.” (source)
The timeline is append-only: corrections are added as new entries. See the NNN Data License Terms for reuse of the event history.
NNN coverage
About Clinch River site
- Core Analysis: The license path is the product now 2026-07-10
- The 7 nuclear stories that mattered this week 2026-10-03
- NRC approves TVA’s Clinch River BWRX-300 permit 2026-10-01
- Bechtel splits with TerraPower on Natrium, files 200-job WARN notice 2026-09-20
- Top SMR developers in 2026, ranked by what they've actually built 2026-08-05
- Small modular reactors, explained: who is building them worldwide 2026-07-09
About Tennessee Valley Authority
- NNN Daily Brief — July 12, 2026 2026-07-12
- TVA's 2026 IRP puts advanced nuclear in the grid plan 2026-07-12
- Nuclear power for data centers, explained: every deal tracked 2026-10-01
- The 8 nuclear stories that mattered this week 2026-09-05
- Tennessee issues first state fusion license to Type One Energy 2026-09-01
- Blue Energy and GVH advance 2.5 GW gas-plus-nuclear plant in Texas 2026-08-16
Related reviews
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See all 75 reviews in the NRC Licensing Review Tracker →