Texas A&M offers land to 4 nuclear energy companies for small reactors
Texas A&M University is offering up land to nuclear reactor companies.
Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp announced last week that he has offered land near the university's campus in Bryan-College Station to four nuclear reactor companies who intend to build small modular reactors.
Kairos Power, Natura Resources, Terrestrial Energy and Aalo Atomics have agreed to work with the Texas A&M University system to bring reactors to Texas A&M-RELLIS, the 2,4000-acre tech innovation campus in Bryan. The reactor builds and tests are part of a new project, "The Energy Proving Ground," which aims to look at the future of energy delivery in the U.S.
More: Why Texas A&M University wants state-of-the-art nuclear power plants on its campus
'Plain and simple: the United States needs more power,' Sharp said in a release about the news. 'And nowhere in the country, other than Texas, is anyone willing to step up and build the power plants we need. Thanks to the leadership of Gov. Greg Abbott and others in Texas state government, Texas A&M System stands ready to step up and do what is necessary for the country to thrive.'
According to the release, the companies' first reactors could be constructed within five years and will work toward bringing "commercial-ready technologies" to the university's land and testing the latest prototypes. The release said university officials have worked to streamline the regulatory process so the four companies can get their reactors operational quickly.
The power generated at the proving ground could also supply power to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which oversees Texas' grid. As of Friday morning, about 10.5% of ERCOT's energy generation came from nuclear energy sources, and its monthly capacity was over 5,260 MW.
"The Energy Proving Ground" site will have a combined electrical output of over one gigawatt. One gigawatt can power about 750,000 homes.
'The agreements that the Texas A&M System has with Kairos, Natura, Terrestrial and Aalo are going to change the energy landscape for the whole country,' said Joe Elabd, vice chancellor for research at the Texas A&M System. 'The Energy Proving Ground will allow these companies to safely test their SMRs and set the stage for deploying small nuclear reactors across the country.'
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas A&M partners with 4 nuclear energy companies
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