Blue Energy Files BWRX-300 SMR Construction Permit Application for Texas Gas-Plus-Nuclear Site

Blue Energy has submitted the first part of a Construction Permit Application (CPA) to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a BWRX-300 small modular reactor at the Port of Victoria, Texas, marking a significant regulatory milestone for what would be the second U.S. project to pursue NRC construction licensing for the GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy boiling water SMR design.¹

What Is the Blue Energy Gas-Plus-Nuclear Model?

The Victoria project is structured around Blue Energy's "gas-plus-nuclear" development concept, which pairs GE Vernova 7HA.02 gas turbines with BWRX-300 SMRs on a single site. The 7HA.02 is GE Vernova's high-efficiency, air-cooled heavy-duty gas turbine platform, a commercially mature machine already deployed at combined-cycle facilities worldwide. Coupling it with nuclear baseload generation on a shared site represents an emerging hybrid power model aimed at providing firm, dispatchable capacity without sole reliance on fossil fuel dispatch.¹

Blue Energy selected the BWRX-300 earlier in 2026 and formalized a project acceleration agreement with GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GVH) in April 2026. GVH is supporting the project with technical information and engineering work related to the reactor design.¹

Where Does This Fall in the BWRX-300 Licensing Pipeline?

Blue Energy's CPA filing follows Tennessee Valley Authority's construction permit application for a BWRX-300 at the Clinch River site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where NRC review is described as approaching a decision.¹ Ontario Power Generation is constructing the first BWRX-300 globally at its Darlington New Nuclear Project in Ontario, Canada.¹

The BWRX-300 is a 300 MWe Generation IV boiling water reactor derived from GE Hitachi's licensed ESBWR design. Its architecture — featuring passive safety systems and a dramatically reduced civil construction footprint compared to conventional large reactors — is central to the cost and schedule case being made by both Blue Energy and TVA. According to GVH, the design requires significantly less concrete and steel than previous GE BWR designs, a key driver of the SMR's projected economics.

Jason Cooper, CEO of GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy, characterized the back-to-back NRC applications as a demonstration of fleet-deployment strategy: "This is what fleet deployment looks like: projects advancing on common technology, licensing work and supply chain capabilities, allowing us to apply lessons from one project to the next."¹

How Is Blue Energy Approaching the NRC Construction Permit Process?

Blue Energy is taking a phased approach to its CPA, with the first part now submitted and the remainder expected in 2027. The company stated the delay in completing the full submission reflects the NRC requirement for a minimum of one calendar year of site-specific environmental and geotechnical data collection at the Port of Victoria location before the application can be finalized.¹

Jake Jurewicz, CEO and co-founder of Blue Energy, said the company moved from technology selection to NRC construction permitting in "a matter of months," framing speed of execution as a core organizational capability. Blue Energy, founded in 2023, describes itself as a vertically integrated deployment platform emphasizing prefabrication and a proprietary financing structure it says reduces the cost of capital for nuclear projects — two factors historically linked to nuclear cost overruns and schedule slippage.¹

Why This Matters for the Rotating Equipment and Turbomachinery Sector

For rotating equipment professionals, the Blue Energy project is notable beyond its nuclear dimension. The integration of 7HA.02 gas turbines into a gas-plus-nuclear site creates interdependencies between the gas turbine's operations and maintenance regime and the nuclear island's licensing and outage schedule. Plant operators and turbomachinery engineers working on future hybrid projects will need to account for how NRC regulatory requirements — including technical specifications governing plant operations — interact with the gas turbine side of the facility.

The project also signals a potentially growing market for turbomachinery OEMs and service providers in SMR-adjacent applications. As more SMR projects advance through licensing in the U.S. and Canada, the balance-of-plant equipment ecosystem — including steam turbines, feedwater pumps, heat exchangers, and instrumentation — will need to scale in parallel with reactor construction.

The broader BWRX-300 pipeline, spanning Darlington, Clinch River, and now Victoria, is establishing what GVH describes as a shared licensing, engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain foundation intended to support repeat deployment domestically and internationally.¹

Reference
1. GE Vernova. "Blue Energy moves Texas gas-plus-nuclear project into NRC construction review, marking a major regulatory milestone." Sept. 16, 2026. https://www.gevernova.com/news/press-releases/blue-energy-texas-gas-plus-nuclear-project-nrc-review