NuScale Power just landed what could become the single largest small modular reactor program ever attempted in the United States. CEO John Hopkins revealed during the company’s Q2 2026 earnings call that the potential power purchase agreement linked to the Tennessee Valley Authority could scale to between 6 and 8 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity.
To put that in perspective, TVA currently operates roughly 8.3 GW of nuclear capacity across its entire fleet. NuScale is essentially proposing to nearly double that figure with a technology that has never been deployed at commercial scale.
How the deal is structured
The arrangement runs through ENTRA1 Energy, NuScale’s exclusive global strategic partner. Under a 50/50 joint venture, ENTRA1 will finance, own, and operate six nuclear plants built with NuScale’s small modular reactor technology across TVA’s service region in the Southeastern United States.
The power generated from these facilities would be sold to TVA under future power purchase agreements. NuScale provides the reactor design and technology. ENTRA1 brings the capital and takes on ownership risk. TVA gets firm, carbon-free baseload power without building the plants itself.
The initial collaborative agreement, announced on September 2, 2025, outlined up to 6 GW of capacity. Hopkins’ more recent comments suggest the program’s ceiling may be even higher, reaching 8 GW as demand projections for the Southeast continue to climb.
NuScale’s SMR technology holds a distinction that no competitor can currently claim: it is the only small modular reactor design with full US Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval for its 77 MWe module and related configurations.
From demo project to fleet deployment
The TVA program represents a fundamental shift in NuScale’s strategy. The company spent years focused on demonstration-scale projects, most notably the Carbon Free Power Project with Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, which was ultimately canceled in late 2023 due to rising costs.
The ENTRA1 partnership answers those questions with a different model entirely. Rather than cobbling together funding from a consortium of small municipal utilities, this approach puts a single well-capitalized partner in charge of financing. Rather than building one demonstration plant to prove the concept, NuScale is jumping straight to fleet deployment across six sites.
What 6 to 8 GW actually means
A single gigawatt of nuclear capacity can power roughly 700,000 to 800,000 homes, depending on regional consumption patterns. At the low end of Hopkins’ projection, 6 GW would supply enough electricity for over 4 million homes.
Each NuScale module produces 77 MWe. Reaching 6 GW would require dozens of modules deployed across the six planned ENTRA1 sites. Reaching 8 GW would require even more, pushing NuScale’s manufacturing and deployment capabilities into genuinely unprecedented territory.
For investors watching the nuclear energy revival, NuScale’s TVA program represents both the sector’s enormous potential and its execution risk. The company has regulatory approval, a deep-pocketed partner, and a willing customer in TVA. What it does not yet have is a single operating commercial reactor.