Nuclear microreactor developer Last Energy has revealed plans to build 30 microreactors in Texas to serve the US data center market.
The reactors will be built on a 200-acre site in Haskell County, in southeast Texas. Last Energy has already obtained site control and will provide power to a range of offtakers via a mix of private wires and grid transmission.
The company has already filed for a grid connection with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and is preparing to file an early site permit with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
“Nuclear power is the most effective way to meet Texas’ demand, but our solution is the best way to meet it quickly. Texas is a state that recognizes energy is a precondition for prosperity, and Last Energy is excited to contribute to that mission,” said Bret Kugelmass, founder and CEO of Last Energy.
According to the company, the plans are in response to the growing demand from Texan data center developers, which has increased significantly over the past year.
Texas currently has more than 340 operational data centers, with a combined capacity of 7.6GW. Capacity is only expected to increase, with nearly half of Texas’s projected load growth expected to be driven by new data centers.
Last Energy already has several commercial agreements, which include the delivery of more than 80 microreactors across Europe, half of which will serve the data center sector.
Last Energy’s microreactor, PWR-20, has a capacity of 20MW and is fully modular. It is designed for flexible siting, plug-and-play installation, and rapid scalability.
Last December, the microreactor firm received a tentative offer of $103.7 million in debt financing from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) to build the first of four SMRs in the UK.
The company plans to build four 20MW pressurized water microreactors at its site in Bridgend, southern Wales. The first reactor could reach operational status as early as 2027.
Last year, Last Energy agreed to sell 24 SMRs to UK customers and ten units to Poland.
Under its business model, the company owns the reactors and sells the power to the country where they are located under long-term contracts.
Over the past 12 months, micro and small modular reactors (SMR) have become hot topics in the data center market.
Last month, SMR firm Deep Fission partnered with Endeavour Energy to co-develop 2GW of nuclear energy to supply Endeavour's global portfolio of data centers operating under the Endeavour Edged brand.
Amazon and Google have signed long-term supply agreements with SMR companies. Amazon announced a partnership and direct investment with X-energy last year to bring more than 5GW of SMR capacity online by 2039.
Before this, Google signed a corporate agreement with Kairos Power to purchase 500MW of power across six to seven reactors. The first SMR is expected to be deployed in 2030.
