Momentum Builds for Texas to Meet Electricity Demand with Small Nuclear Reactors
Texas aims to meet rising power demand with factory-built small modular reactors, supported by $350 million state fund and $1.2 billion federal backing, targeting early 2030s operation.
- Less than three years after Gov. Greg Abbott created the Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group, Texas has become a main U.S. testing ground with private developers and officials advancing pilot builds statewide.
- Rising electricity demand from data centers, electric vehicles, and Permian Basin electrification has heightened urgency, while the Texas Legislature created a $350 million Texas Nuclear Development Fund and the ADVANCE Act directed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to streamline reviews.
- Aalo Atomics is pursuing a factory-built sodium-cooled fast reactor and plans to activate its first 10-megawatt test unit within about five months, with a five-unit commercial model totaling 50 megawatts.
- Regulatory requirements and NRC timelines mean commercial steps will follow demonstration data, with tests this summer shaping the industry’s trajectory, and the NRC review process can take 18 months or more.
- Unresolved waste disposal and critics’ timing and cost doubts raise adoption questions as National Renewable Energy Laboratory cost projections range from $2.9 million to $10.1 million per megawatt, while viability requires costs below $3 million per megawatt.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Momentum is building to meet electricity demand in Texas with small nuclear reactors
Less than three years after Gov. Greg Abbott announced the creation of the Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group, Texas has become one of the main testing grounds in the United States for small modular nuclear reactors TX(SMRs), a technology long discussed but with few real-world examples to
Momentum builds for Texas to meet electricity demand with small nuclear reactors
Officials and companies are betting that small nuclear reactors could help provide needed power to the Texas grid while bringing investment and jobs — even as serious questions remain about cost, timelines and whether the technology can deliver on its promises.
Texas becomes leading test ground for small nuclear reactors
The first small modular nuclear reactor could be powering an industrial plant in Texas early in the next decade. And the state is pushing to become the leading site for testing and building the technology.
Possible Solution To Texas Energy Demand: Nukes – 710am KURV
Texas is putting small modular nuclear reactors to the test as a possible solution to the state’s growing energy demand. Governor Greg Abbott announced the creation of the Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group in 2023. The Bureau of Business Research at U-T Austin estimated that the average demand on the Texas power grid could nearly triple by 2050. State officials and businesses are optimistic that small nuclear reactors could bring inve…
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