Fermi America, Blue Energy make strides in Texas

A draft environmental impact statement is now complete for Fermi America's plan to construct and operate four AP1000 reactors at its Project Matador Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus in Texas, a project that has seen upheaval along the way, including the ouster of cofounders from their leadership roles.

A first-of-a-kind draft EIS: A draft EIS evaluates the environmental impacts of potentially issuing a combined operating license (COL), as well as the alternative of not issuing the COL. This draft EIS process, though, was the first of its kind, as it was completed as an accelerated environmental review pilot program under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in which the applicant developed the draft under Nuclear Regulatory Commission supervision.

The draft EIS gave a preliminary recommendation in favor of the ambitious project's COL request, pending successful completion of a safety review. "The NRC staff based its preliminary recommendation on the NRC staff's independent environmental review; the NRC staff's assessment of the applicant-prepared EIS; the NRC staff's consultation with federal, state, and local agencies and Indian Tribes; the NRC staff's consideration of public comments received during the scoping process," the agency said.

Developed in partnership with Texas Tech University, Project Matador has been touted by Fermi America as one of the largest private energy grids of its kind. The plans originally called for a site with 11 GW of power, including 4.4 GW of nuclear generation, but more recent updates called for a campus that could generate closer to 17 GW of electricity.

Questions arose, however, after then CEO and board chair Toby Neugebauer and chief financial officer Miles Everson stepped down. Filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last spring said Fermi America had terminated Neugebauer for cause. According to SEC filings, Neugebauer had submitted proposals seeking to take control of the board and the company. News outlets reported that Neugebauer sued to block his removal.

Despite the turmoil at the top, Project Matador continues. In August, Fermi America announced it had signed its first binding customer lease for the campus. The lease signed by AI cloud provider TensorWave would cover a data center facility supported by 222 MW of facility power, with the possibility for additional data centers and up to 650 MW. That same month, the company also announced the appointment of Lee McIntire to the office of CEO.

A 45-day public comment period on the Project Matador draft EIS opened on October 9. Comments can be submitted through November 23 on the federal rulemaking website, referencing docket ID NRC-2026-0100. More information is available in the Federal Register notice.

A final EIS is targeted for December, according to the NRC.

First part of gas-to-nuclear project submitted: Project Matador is not the only recent development in Texas. Blue Energy announced on September 16 that it had submitted to the NRC the first part of its construction permit application for a gas-to-nuclear project at the Port of Victoria, Texas, including a limited work authorization (LWA) request. This project would see GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300s and GE Vernova 7HA.02 gas turbines provide power to nearby data center facilities. The plan is for five BWRX-300s to be on line in 2032, providing about 1.5 GW of new nuclear capacity.

The NRC posted the notice of the application submission in the Federal Register on October 8. The application includes a request to begin limited construction activities; a request to approve Blue Energy's approach to constructing the power plant; Blue Energy's environmental report; and information on Blue Energy's approach to financing the project.

According to Blue Energy, the company plans to submit the second half of its application in the second half of 2027, after concluding the NRC-mandated full calendar year of site-specific data collection.

"This is serious work done by serious people for a serious project. This is another huge step toward building the world's first gas-to-nuclear power plant and proving the Blue Energy approach to build nuclear in the safest, quickest, and most scalable way possible," CEO and cofounder Jake Jurewicz said in a statement.

NRC commissioners meeting in Texas: The NRC's five commissioners will host a public meeting at the agency's Arlington, Texas, offices to discuss enhancements made to reactor and materials oversight over the first 100 days of the reorganization. Two panel discussions-one on reactor oversight topics and one on materials oversight topics-are planned, each followed by Q&A sessions.

The meeting is scheduled for October 15 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. (CDT) at the NRC Region IV office, 1600 East Lamar Boulevard, Arlington, Texas. The public is invited to attend in person or via webcast at video.nrc.gov.