Dozens of microreactors set to be built in Texas to power data centers

According to the latest information, Last Energy plans to build up to 30 microreactors in Texas. These small nuclear power plants are intended to supply data centers across the state.

The planned local microreactors are intended to meet the growing electricity demand of data centers in Texas. Of the company’s existing commercial agreements, which cover the delivery of more than 80 microreactors across Europe, up to half are intended to supply data centers.

The planned construction in Texas could increase the number of microreactors under development by almost 40%, ushering in an era of commercial development of this type of technology in the United States. The company hopes the Texas project will play a key role in meeting the expected growth in data centers in the state.

The company already owns a site of more than 80 hectares earmarked for reactor construction. To assess the possibility of connecting the power plants to the grid, Last Energy has already applied to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas for a connection and is currently preparing to submit an application to build the microreactors.

Texas, the second-largest U.S. state, is home to more than 340 data centers, which consume large amounts of electricity. Together, they require 8 GW of capacity and account for 9% of all electricity consumption in Texas. In the Dallas-Fort Worth region alone, data centers are expected to require an additional 43 GW of capacity.

“Texas is an undisputed leader in the development of U.S. energy, but rapid population growth and the expansion of data centers mean we need to deploy new technologies. Nuclear energy is the most effective way to meet this demand, as our solution offers the flexibility of plug-and-play microreactors and rapid deployment,” said Bret Kugelmass, founder and CEO of Last Energy.

Last Energy technology

Last Energy is a spin-off of the Energy Impact Center, a research institute dedicated to accelerating the transition to clean energy through innovation. Its reactor technology, which it is developing in cooperation with Polish energy group Enea SA, is based on a pressurized water reactor with an output of 20 MWe or 80 MWt.  The individual power plant modules would be built away from the Texas site and then transported there and assembled into their final form on site.

Last Energy’s plant design, known as the PWR-20, consists of several dozen modules and was designed to be manufactured, transported and assembled within 24 months. The plant is primarily intended to serve private industrial customers.

In early February, Last Energy formally entered the UK nuclear power plant licensing process for its plans to develop four 20 MWe microreactors at the site of the decommissioned Llynfi coal-fired power plant in the Bridgend district of South Wales. The company aims to deliver the first microreactor in Wales in 2027. However, everything will depend on the granting of licences and the permitting process.