Advanced nuclear power is surging from theory to strategy in Texas. As the state looks for more always-on electricity to match fast-rising demand, leaders are betting that small modular reactors and other next-generation designs can deliver reliable power without the fuel and weather risks tied to a single resource. In that sense, Texas advanced nuclear energy expansion isn’t a side project. In fact, it’s becoming a practical tool to keep the Texas grid stable, support heavy industry, and preserve Texas’ role as America’s energy leader.
Background
Texas is doubling down on oil and gas, and that effort is real. The Permian Basin continues to break production records. Companies are also adding pipelines, gas-processing plants, and storage to move more fuel where it needs to go. On the power side, state leaders have pushed hard for new gas plants after Winter Storm Uri. Voters approved the Texas Energy Fund, and the Public Utility Commission has directed billions in support toward new dispatchable generation, mostly natural gas. In addition, programs like the Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology, and Innovation Act encourage new gas infrastructure and modernization across the system. So, the state is not backing away from hydrocarbons. Instead, it is trying to build more of what it already does well.
Demand
However, even a strong gas buildout cannot carry the grid by itself anymore. First, demand is rising faster than expected. Population growth adds load every year. Heavy industry is expanding along the Gulf Coast. Data centers are also stampeding into Texas, and many of them want huge blocks of power 24/7.
Supply
Second, gas plants have their own limits. Fuel supply can tighten during extreme cold or heat. Gas prices can spike when regional demand jumps. Construction costs also keep climbing, while permitting and interconnection still take time. As a result, Texas needs more firm power sources that do not depend on weather and do not rely on a single fuel network.
Reality
That reality lands in a politically charged moment. Many conservative groups and some lawmakers have turned sharply against renewables. They argue that wind and solar threaten reliability, drive new transmission costs, and strain rural land use. Over the last two sessions, lawmakers introduced a wave of bills to slow renewable growth or to add expensive “firming” requirements. Some of those bills failed after pushback from business, local leaders, and grid experts. Still, the fight continues, and it shapes how energy debates sound at the Capitol. Consequently, Texas faces a paradox: parts of the governing majority reject alternatives to oil and gas, yet the grid’s math demands another round-the-clock resource. Advanced nuclear has stepped into that opening.
Why Texas is leaning into advanced nuclear now
Texas’ grid is growing at a pace the state has not seen in decades. ERCOT has warned about tighter reserve margins as large loads line up for service. Lawmakers want dispatchable power first, and they want it soon. Nuclear fits that priority because it runs 24/7, stores long-term fuel onsite, and produces no carbon emissions at the point of generation. In other words, it offers firm power without the same fuel-delivery risks that show up during extreme weather.
Just as important, Texas leaders see a strategic economic play. The state already has the engineers, welders, and plant operators needed for high-end energy systems. It also has industrial sites that need both electricity and high-temperature steam. Therefore, if advanced nuclear scales nationally, Texas wants to host the data centers, factories, research hubs, and first commercial builds. Governor Greg Abbott has said directly that he wants Texas to lead the United States in advanced nuclear deployment. So, the push is not only about reliability. It is also about jobs, investment, and long-term competitiveness.
The policy backbone: the Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group
To move from ambition to a workable plan, the Public Utility Commission created the Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group in 2023. The group studied what Texas needed to attract next-generation reactors, especially small modular reactors (SMRs). It looked at market impacts, permitting barriers, workforce needs, and possible incentives. Then it delivered recommendations to state leadership by December 1, 2024.
This was not a symbolic committee. Instead, it laid out a checklist for action: how to reduce early risk, how to coordinate state agencies, and how to make ERCOT a better market for firm, long-lived resources. In other words, Texas treated nuclear the way it treats other big energy goals: gather data, identify obstacles, and develop a roadmap before private developers commit billions.
2025 legislation: HB 14 and the nuclear incentive package
During the 89th Legislature, Texas passed a major pro-nuclear package. The centerpiece, House Bill 14, took effect on September 1, 2025. It does three main things.
First, it creates a Texas Advanced Nuclear Development Office. This office coordinates state efforts, recruits projects, and acts as a clearinghouse for developers. Instead of sending a company to ten agencies in ten different orders, Texas now offers a single front door. That matters because advanced nuclear projects face complicated licensing steps even before the first shovel hits the ground.
Second, the bill establishes a Texas Advanced Nuclear Development Fund. Lawmakers appropriated about $350 million to reduce early project risk and pull private capital into Texas. Early proposals asked for more, yet the final amount still stands as the largest state-level nuclear incentive commitment in the country. The logic is simple: the first few projects cost the most, because they carry design, licensing, and supply-chain risk. If the state helps cover part of that risk, more private money will follow.
Third, HB 14 explicitly backs advanced designs, including SMRs and other modern reactors. Two companion bills, Senate Bill 1061 and Senate Bill 1535, add supporting regulatory details. Together, the package sends a clear signal: Texas wants advanced nuclear, not only old-style plants.
At the same time, the Legislature has reinforced dispatchable power more broadly, including policies that favor firm generation over variable renewables. That context matters. It helps explain why nuclear found momentum inside a conservative Texas: it counts as dispatchable, it supports industry, and it avoids the cultural fight around “green energy.”
The project pipeline: where new advanced nuclear is taking shape
Policy only matters if projects follow. So far, Texas has several credible efforts in the pipeline.
Dow + X-energy SMR project at Seadrift (Calhoun County)
Dow’s Long Mott Energy subsidiary and X-energy are pursuing four advanced SMRs at Dow’s Seadrift complex. They filed a construction permit with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and the NRC docketed the application in May 2025. If built, the reactors will provide both electricity and industrial steam. This structure fits Texas well. The project anchors on a large industrial customer instead of relying only on ERCOT energy prices. Consequently, it improves financing and adds grid reliability as a side benefit.
Texas A&M RELLIS “Energy Proving Ground”
The Texas A&M System is pursuing an Early Site Permit for a proving ground at its RELLIS campus near College Station. The vision is a multi-reactor site that can host several SMRs totaling more than a gigawatt over time. The campus will also support training and supply-chain testing. Because site permitting takes years, pre-permitting a Texas location could speed first commercial builds. In practice, it works like an incubator for reactors: one location, many designs, faster learning.
Molten salt research reactor in West Texas
A consortium led by Abilene Christian University, Natura Resources, and several other university partners is developing the MSR-1 molten salt research reactor, with a goal to operate by late 2026. The team wants to pair advanced nuclear with local needs, such as produced-water treatment and industrial heat tied to the Permian Basin. Research reactors do not solve ERCOT reliability tomorrow. Still, they build Texas expertise and help the state lead on non-light-water technology.
Homegrown nuclear startups
Texas startups are entering the race as well. For example, Austin-based Aalo Atomics is raising capital to manufacture microreactors for large users like data centers and industrial sites. Another is Fermi America, a Texas-based advanced energy and AI-infrastructure startup co-founded by former Gov. Rick Perry. The company is developing a project near Amarillo to pair nuclear generation with hyperscale data centers and nearby industrial loads.
Taken together, these efforts show a real pipeline from lab to factory to grid. They also show that Texas is not waiting for someone else to act first.
How advanced nuclear fits the Texas grid and energy mix
Today, Texas relies on two nuclear stations—Comanche Peak and the South Texas Project—to supply about a tenth of ERCOT power. Those units run reliably, but they cannot meet future load growth alone.
Advanced nuclear changes the system in three ways. First, SMRs allow smaller steps. Instead of financing one huge plant, developers can add modules over time. Second, Texas can co-locate reactors with industry. A refinery, chemical plant, hydrogen hub, or desalination site can buy steam and power directly. That improves economics and reduces grid stress. Third, nuclear complements renewables. Wind and solar will keep growing because they are cheap and fast to build. Nuclear adds firm power that holds the system steady during calm nights, winter cold snaps, or long heat waves.
So, even if politics keep flaring around renewables, physics still pushes the grid toward a broader mix. Nuclear helps Texas get there without abandoning the state’s dispatchable-first mindset.
The hard parts Texas still must solve
Texas’ nuclear push is serious, yet a few obstacles remain.
Federal permitting still sets the pace.
Texas can streamline state coordination, but the NRC controls licensing. Therefore, the new development office will need to help applicants move through the federal process without delays.
First-of-a-kind costs stay high.
Advanced reactors promise lower costs when builders repeat designs. Until then, early units cost more. That’s why Texas aimed its fund at first projects—to shrink the risk window before scale kicks in.
Waste and public confidence require steady work.
Supporters cannot wave this away. They need clear plans for storage, transport, and long-term responsibility. If they stay transparent, they can keep local buy-in.
ERCOT market signals are imperfect.
Texas runs an energy-only market, which sometimes under-rewards long-duration reliability. As a result, many nuclear projects will rely on long-term industrial contracts or policy support at first. Over time, Texas may need market tweaks to value firm capacity more directly.
None of these challenges are fatal. Still, they define the next phase of work.
Bottom line
Texas is not choosing nuclear instead of oil and gas. Rather, it is reinforcing the hydrocarbon foundation while admitting a hard truth: gas expansion alone cannot guarantee reliability for the future Texas grid. Meanwhile, political resistance to renewables makes other alternatives harder to sell. Consequently, advanced nuclear has become the dispatchable, low-carbon option that many Texans can support without abandoning their energy identity.
The state’s roadmap is already in motion. The PUC working group built the strategy. The 2025 Legislature enacted HB 14, created a development office, and funded early deployment. At the same time, the project queue shows that developers see Texas as a real home for advanced reactors.
If these first deployments succeed, Texas won’t just add megawatts. More importantly, it will anchor a national advanced-reactor supply chain, train the next nuclear workforce, and prove that a deeply conservative, oil-and-gas state can still lead the next chapter of nuclear power. In the end, that mix of reliability, industry, and ambition is exactly how Texas has stayed ahead in energy for more than a century.