Texas Public Utility Commissioner Jimmy Glotfelty on Sept. 28 provided details about a working group in the state that will study and plan for the use of advanced nuclear plants in Texas.
In August 2023, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced a directive to the Public Utilities Commission of Texas Interim Chair Kathleen Jackson to form a working group to study and provide recommendations tied to advanced nuclear plants.
“To maximize power grid reliability, the newly formed group will work to understand Texas’ role in deploying and using advanced nuclear reactors, consider all potential financial incentives available, determine nuclear-specific changes needed in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market, identify any federal or state regulatory hurdles to development, and analyze how Texas can streamline and accelerate permitting for building advanced nuclear reactors,” a news release from Abbott’s office noted.
Abbott also directed the working group to coordinate with ERCOT to begin addressing the technical challenges of incorporating advanced nuclear technology into the ERCOT grid.
The newly-formed Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group held its first public workshop on Sept. 28.
At the workshop, Glotfelty said that “We’re going to find a way to find the barriers and create solutions. The solutions are going to be recommendations.”
The goal “is to put the bow on Texas and show why we should be the leader in this space and that we will be the leader in this space, whether it be supply chain, workforce, the large companies that are already involved in this, the academic community that has been doing research in this, the existing reactor operators, the industrial community and the high tech community and others that really should have a role in this and all of those voices need to come forward so that we can make this pathway successful,” he said.
In his presentation, Glotfelty listed the following project goals of the working group:
- Study technological advances in nuclear energy production, particularly as it relates to safety for the state’s residents;
- Map the state’s role in deploying and using advanced nuclear reactors;
- Identify existing and potential federal and state incentives;
- Determine nuclear-specific changes needed in the ERCOT market;
- Identify any specific federal and state regulatory impediments to development;
- Consider possibilities for the state to streamline and accelerate permitting through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and
- Encourage development of a robust supply chain
Additional information about the working group is available on the Texas PUC’s website.
In May, Dow and X-Energy Reactor Company, LLC announced that Dow had selected a manufacturing site in Texas for its proposed advanced small modular reactor nuclear project.
