The approval follows completion of eight years of extensive safety reviews and inspections.
The 40-year operating license approval for the first new nuclear unit of the 21st century in the US, represents the completion of the construction on Watts Bar Unit 2 by Bechtel.
Bechtel served as the primary construction contractor for the Watts Bar Unit 2, which is now being prepared for initial fuel load.
TVA president and CEO Bill Johnson said: "This achievement signifies more than a stage in construction for TVA.
"The unit is essential to diversifying TVA’s power sources to assure the more than 9 million people served by TVA and its local power company partners have affordable and reliable electricity generated in an environmentally friendly manner."
NRC Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation director Bill Dean said: "We already monitor Unit 1’s performance through our Reactor Oversight Process, which is used at all reactor sites throughout the country, and we’re adding Unit 2 to that system.
"Staff from our Region II office in Atlanta will ensure TVA meets its requirements as it loads fuel into Unit 2 and runs tests before the unit starts generating electricity."
The unit is schedule to be commissioned in early 2016.
Including the operational Unit 1, the Watts Bar plant is expected to generate carbon-free electricity to power 1.3 million homes.
Bechtel Nuclear, Security & Environmental business unit president Craig Albert said: "We look forward to fuel loading and the final steps still to come before the reactor begins providing electricity to the grid."
"To sustainably meet the world’s growing demands for low-carbon electricity, nuclear power must play a role in an all-of-the-above generation strategy."
Image: The Watts Bar nuclear station in Tennessee, US. Photo: courtesy of Bechtel Corporation.
