In August 2023, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott asked a new working group to study all the ways in which state policy could help foster and deploy advanced nuclear power.
The Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group came back last month with far-reaching proposals for driving investment to the Lone Star State, suggesting among other things that Texas lawmakers approve financial incentives, much as they did for natural gas generation.
Texas is a magnet for rising electricity demand. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the grid operator for most of the state, is forecasting energy demand will grow 113 percent by 2030, primarily tied to data center projects around Dallas and oil and gas production in the Permian Basin.
“The fact is that many of the industrial businesses and such in our state need firm 24/7 power, and they want it in a carbon-free way,” said Jimmy Glotfelty, who spent 15 months leading the working group.
