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Texas Legislature Moves Toward Encouraging Nuclear Power in the State

The Texas Legislature has recently approved House Bill 14, establishing a $350 million taxpayer-funded grant program to promote nuclear energy development in the state.

This initiative aims to position Texas as a leader in advanced nuclear technologies, particularly focusing on SMRs. This is, however, a very much “glass half full” result as the original pitch for the legislation suggested a $2 billion grant program.

The Governor’s Office will oversee the nuclear energy fund and the grant program. This includes hiring a coordinator to assist qualifying programs in navigating federal regulations, aiming to expedite the permitting process.

SMR Nuclear a Moving Target

At this point in time, it does seem that the permitting process for next generation reactors is a bit of a moving target as there have been reports of pressure being put on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to both simplify and tighten up the permitting process.

Approximately 80% of the $350 million fund is designated to reimburse construction costs for operational nuclear reactors. The remaining funds are allocated for research and development initiatives.

The focus for all of the funding is supposed to be targeted at the development of SMR facilities within the state. 

Texas Governor Greg Abbott believes that the funding would bolster Texas’ nuclear manufacturing capacity, rebuild a domestic fuel cycle supply chain, and train the future nuclear workforce, going a long way to making Texas a leader in the nuclear power industry.

The Texas nuclear office is expected to be operational by the end of 2025, though results from the funding are dependent on the time scale of the SMR industry, which is still, most realistically, looking at 2030 before the first commercial power plants are operational.