Texas Firm Plans Four AP1000s at Amarillo, TX, Site
EDF to Invest £1.1 Billion in UK Sizewell C Nuclear Project
Canada’s ARC Completes Key Design Review In Bid To License SMR
Italy’s SOLO Microreactor Inks US Deal for Illinois Industrial Park
NRC Dockets Construction Permit Application for TVA Small Modular Reactor
NRC Accelerates Review of Kemmerer Power Station Construction Permit
Texas Firm Plans Four AP1000s at Amarillo
A Texas firm Fermi America LLC, led by former DOE Secretary Rick Perry plans to build four 1,150 MW (4.6 GW) Westinghouse AP1000 PWR type nuclear reactors at a 5,700 acre site adjacent to the NNSA Pantex nuclear weapons depot in Amarillo, TX, which is 360 miles northwest of Dallas, TX.
According to its press statement, the project is expected to have its first reactor, of the four, in revenue service by 2032. Until then the facility will rely on natural gas and solar energy for electricity. Amarillo is home to a large and productive gas field.
Given the timeline for a nuclear new build at this scale, it could be 2040 or later before all four reactors are in revenue service. The 2032 date provided by Fermi American for the first reactor is likely to be subject to change.
By partnering with the Texas Tech University, by leasing the site for 99 years, project developers will be able to leverage a legal authority of the State of Texas called “Sovereign Ovenership” which is expected to clear away delays related to water and mineral rights and local zoning.
The site is expected to host so-called hyperscale data centers based on “behind the meter connections” which will likely mean most of the power generated by the reactors will not go on the Texas electrical power grid. Amarillo is not part of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. ERCOT, which covers most of the state.
Fermi America co-founder Toby Neugebauer said in an interview with the Amarillo, TX, newspaper, said the “HyperGrid” campus will use high-efficiency cooling systems that recycle water in a closed-loop process to minimize evaporation. Air-cooled condensers are being considered for power plant cooling, along with the use of non-potable water sources such as graywater from municipal wastewater treatment and brackish water unsuitable for agricultural or domestic use. According to press statements from Fermi America, site will utilize multiple energy sources, including nuclear, solar, wind, and natural gas, to power 18 million square feet of AI data centers.
To further reduce evaporative loss, Fermi is exploring underground reservoir systems and retention ponds covered with solar panels — a method Neugebauer said is already in use in China and the Middle East.
In terms of licensing, the Westinghouse AP1000 reactor design has generic approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). A combined construction and operations license will be needed for each of the four reactors. Fermi America filed its first round of regulatory documents with the NRC this month. (ML25169A395)
Assuming a COL is obtained for the 1st of four reactors by 2027, given a six-to-eight year construction effort, the 1st unit could potentially be in revenue service by 2033. It could take to 2040 to complete all four of them.
According to news media and wire service reports the cost of the four reactors, at an estimated cost of $9.000/KW, will come in at just over $41 billion making it one of the largest capital construction projects in the country. The firm said in its NRC filings that it expects to apply for DOE loans. Other plans to finance construction and operation are reported to include equity capital contributions from institutional infrastructure and real estate investors, structured bond offerings, and clean energy tax credits.
Fermi America said in press statements construction will be financed by “take-or-pay” contracts from the data centers and by leasing land to them for their facilities. The firm has reported so far it has spent as much as $50 million on getting started since its kickoff last January.
The firm has not yet selected an EPC to build the reactors. Amarillo and its surrounding area can expect an influx of perhaps as many as 10,000 workers over the 10-12 years it will take to build all four units.
According to a profile of the city in Wikipedia, living and working in Amarillo is not for the faint of heart. Amarillo is located near the middle of the Texas Panhandle. It does not share similar weather characteristics with south and east Texas. It is situated in the grasslands of the Texas Panhandle and is surrounded by dense prairie and desert. Amarillo is infamous for its unpredictable weather patterns, with broad daily temperature changes, raging winds, devastating hailstorms and “northers”, long periods of drought, late frosts, spring tornadoes, dust storms, and floods.
Project Founders Have High Profiles in Texas
Project co-founder Rick Perry is a former governor of Texas who once said in a presidential debate he didn’t know what the Department of Energy did for the government and said he wanted to abolish it. Later was appointed to head the agency under President Trump. Perry unsuccessfully ran for to win the Republican presidential nomination in the 2012 and 2016 elections.
The other cofounder is Toby Neugebaur who is an investment banker, and active in the Texas Republican Party. He is the son of a former Texas congressman and made a political campaign contribution to Rick Perry’s brief run for president. In 2016 he organized a political action committee that raised money in 2016 for Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
The Fermi America project is called “Project Matador” and the facility has been tagged by its high profile, and politically active, founders as the ‘Donald J. Trump nuclear power plant.’
Gas Power for Now
The firm is reported by the Dallas Morning News to have purchased nine gas turbines to create 600 MW of electrical power. The acquisition involves sourcing new, “in crate,” Siemens Frame industrial gas turbines. To be purchased from Firebird LNG in conjunction with Siemens Energy, the full equipment package includes six gas turbines, six heat recovery steam generators, and one steam turbine.
It also has six gas turbine exhaust venting systems, which Fermi says allows for reliable, simple-cycle operation in the event of outages or maintenance.
The second acquisition includes a set of three secondary market General Electric industrial gas turbines, and a paired steam turbine. The equipment was formerly in operation at a heavy industrial operation in New Jersey and will be refurbished. New heat recovery steam generators will be installed as well.
News Media Coverage of Fermi America‘s Nuclear Energy Plans
Reuters – Texas project to build four nuclear plants is in talks with ‘hyperscalers’
Amarillo Globe-News – Texas Tech, Fermi America announce world’s largest AI energy campus near Pantex
American Thinker – Ready for the Donald J. Trump nuclear power plant?
& & &
EDF to Invest £1.1 Billion in UK Sizewell C Nuclear Project
(Bloomberg) Electricite de France SA (EDF) will invest £1.1 billion ($1.5 billion) to help build two reactors at the UK’s Sizewell nuclear power plant. Separately, Bpifrance, the Frances’s export credit agency will provide a £5 billion debt guarantee.
The French state-owned utility will have 12.5% stake in the Sizewell C project, according to a Bloomberg News report. This is a reduction from its current 16.2% equity stake. EDF is also building four 1,650 MW EPR nuclear reactors in the UK, two at Hinkley Point C and two more at Sizewell C. In addition, the French state-owned enterprise is limiting its financial exposure having committed to building at last eight more EPRs in France to replace the oldest units in that country’s aging nuclear fleet.
The UK government, which has a majority stake in the venture, will invest £14.2 billion as part of a plan to replace its aging atomic plants.
Separately, Centrica Plc is reported to be in advanced discussions to acquire a 15% holding in Sizewell C, while Brookfield Asset Management is also working on a bid for a stake. Firm commitments from those investors will be critical to the site reaching a final investment decision (FID), which the British government is targeting for later this summer.
Brookfield to Take 20% Stake in Sizewell C
The Financial Times (FT) , London, reports Brookfield Asset Management will take a 20% equity stake in the UK’s Sizewell C nuclear project, which is building twin EDF 1,650 MW EPRs. It make it the largest shareholder in the project. The UK government will retain majority control financially. A final investment decision (FID) for the giant nuclear project is expected later this summer after several delays.
The final cost of Sizewell could be close to £40 billion, the FT reported in January based on assumptions from industry experts. Both the government and Sizewell’s management declined to confirm that number. Previous estimates have been in the range of £30-35 billion.
& & &
Canada’s ARC Completes Key Design Review In Bid To License SMR
Sodium-cooled plant ‘ready for next stages’ of development
(NucNet) Canada-based nuclear power plant developer ARC Clean Technology announced on 07/09/25 that it has achieved a major milestone with the successful completion of Phase 2 of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) vendor design review for its advanced small modular reactor, the ARC-100.
In its report, the CNSC concluded that no fundamental barriers to licensing have been identified, marking a pivotal step toward the commercial deployment of the ARC-100.
The ARC-100 is a 100 MW sodium-cooled fast neutron reactor designed for both on-grid electricity production and industrial heat applications. The ARC-100 is the first advanced, sodium-cooled fast neutron reactor to complete a review of this type with the CNSC. The ARC-100 design is based on the on the Integral Fast Reactor.
ARC said the plant builds upon proven technology and can provides clean, reliable power to support grid stability and industrial applications. With the conclusion of this CNSC review, ARC said it is “well-positioned” to proceed with the next stages of licensing and deployment.
The submissions to CNSC included information related to safety systems, safety analyses, reactor and process system design, regulatory compliance and quality assurance.
ARC and Swiss-American company data center project company Deep Atomic recently signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the deployment of ARC-100 SMRs to power next-generation data centers and AI infrastructure.
New Brunswick Power has chosen the ARC-100 for potential deployment at its Point Lepreau nuclear site, where a single Candu 6 plant has been in commercial operation since 1983.
Canada’s Belledune Port Authority is also working on plans to use ARC-100 plants as part of a future expansion at the northern New Brunswick port, eastern Canada.
& & &
Italy’s SOLO Microreactor Inks US Deal for Illinois Industrial Park
GSR III Acquisition Corp. and Terra Innovatum Announce MOU for First-of-a-Kind SOLO Deployment Site at Rock City Development’s Industrial Park, with Future Option to Deploy 50 SOLO Reactors On-Site for Commercial Expansion
Partnership Agreement Provides Site for First-Of-A-Kind (FOAK) SOLO Nuclear Micro Modular Reactor (1 MWe)
Agreement Includes Option to Purchase 50 SOLO™ Reactors to Meet Demand for Reliable Behind-the-Meter Energy Supplies (50 MWe)
GSR III Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: GSRT), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, based in Austin, TX, and Terra Innovatum Srl, a developer of micro-modular nuclear reactors, announced that Terra Innovatum signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Rock City Admiral Parkway Development, a six-million square-foot industrial park in Valmeyer, IL, 26 miles south of St, Louis, MO, to host the first deployment site for the SOLO micro-modular reactor.
This strategic agreement grants Terra Innovatum dedicated use of Rock City’s land for the licensing, testing, and construction of the Company’s first-of-a-kind (FOAK) SOLO reactor. Terra Innovatum will supply Rock City’s industrial, logistics, food distribution and government clients with power from the FOAK SOLO with an option to subsequently deploy 50 reactors on site, delivering up to 50 MWe for commercial use.
The project will supply power, with the potential for co-generation, to Rock City facilities under a 15-year term for the FOAK deployment, with the option to extend commercial operations up to 45 years.
Financial terms of the deal and a timeline for the new build were not disclosed in press statements. The SOLO reactor is not currently licensed by the NRC. Last May the firm began submitting topical information to the NRC in anticipation of a future safety design review. It updated its regulatory engagement plan in June. The document was prepared by the firm’s office in Lucca, Italy (ML25159A006)
& & &
NRC Dockets Construction Permit Application for TVA Small Modular Reactor
First utility-led construction permit application now under review to build BWRX-300 SMR design. The paperwork was submitted to the NRC last May.
GE Vernova Hitachi’s BWRX-300 is currently the only boiling water SMR design under development in the United States.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) accepted a construction permit application for review from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to build one of the nation’s first small modular reactors (SMR).
TVA is the first utility applying to build GE Vernova Hitachi’s BWRX-300 design in the United States and could pave the way for other utilities looking to deploy the same technology. TVA submitted its application to the NRC in late May to build the advanced nuclear plant at its Clinch River site near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The next step is a full safety review of the reactor design before it is cleared for construction.
The 300-megawatt-electric advanced light water system is a smaller, simplified version of GE Vernova Hitachi’s licensed Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) and will leverage established supply chains that could accelerate its deployment.
In 2023, TVA joined a global collaboration with Ontario Power Generation to expedite technology development of the SMR for use in the United States and Canada.
Four BWRX-300 reactors were recently cleared for construction in Clarington, Ontario, with commercial operation expected by the end of 2029.
TVA anticipates preliminary site preparation work could begin as early as next year while the NRC reviews the company’s construction permit application.
& & &
NRC Accelerates Review of Kemmerer Power Station Construction Permit
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has set a more aggressive schedule and aims to complete its review by the end of 2025 on TerraPower’s construction permit application for Kemmerer Power Station Unit 1 in Kemmerer, Wyoming.
Frequent and productive engagements with TerraPower, along with other efficiency gains, mean the NRC could complete reviews by Dec. 31, 2025, 6 months ahead of the current schedule. The accelerated timeline depends on a continued commitment from TerraPower to resolve the remaining issues in a timely manner.
TerraPower filed the application in March 2024, requesting a permit to build the sodium-cooled, advanced reactor design on a site near an existing coal-fired power plant. The 345 MW Natrium plant includes an energy storage system to temporarily boost output up to 500 MWe, when needed. If the NRC issues the construction permit, TerraPower would need to submit a separate operating license application.
# # #