Texas Governor Greg Abbott has congratulated the Texas Legislature for passing House Bill 14, saying it will help revolutionize Texas’ energy sector and cement the state’s role in leading a nuclear power renaissance in the United States.
“Texas is the energy capital of the world, and this legislation will position Texas at the forefront of America’s nuclear renaissance,” said Governor Abbott. “By creating the Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Office and investing $350 million–the largest national commitment–we will jumpstart next-generation nuclear development and deployment. This initiative will also strengthen Texas’ nuclear manufacturing capacity, rebuild a domestic fuel cycle supply chain, and train the future nuclear workforce. I look forward to signing it into law.”
The U.S. nuclear power sector is seeing renewed momentum as electricity demand rises, particularly from data centers, alongside policy support for carbon-free generation and growing interest in long-duration, firm power. Large technology companies are increasingly positioning themselves around nuclear energy through long-term power contracts, development partnerships, and early-stage investments, marking a shift from decades of limited new nuclear deployment.
Microsoft has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Constellation Energy tied to the company’s nuclear generation fleet, as Constellation evaluates the future of assets including the Three Mile Island site in Pennsylvania. Separately, Microsoft is backing nuclear fusion development through its partnership with Helion Energy. Alphabet has partnered with nuclear startup Kairos Power to support the development of small modular reactor technology, with the aim of sourcing power from future reactors expected to come online in the 2030s. Google has also invested in fusion developer TAE Technologies and early-stage fission company Elemental Power.
Meta Platforms has also signed a 20-year agreement with Constellation Energy for electricity from an existing nuclear reactor in Illinois and has issued a request for proposals seeking 1–4 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity in the United States. Meanwhile, TerraPower, founded and backed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, is developing a sodium-cooled fast reactor, with a demonstration project underway in Wyoming. Oklo, backed by OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, is developing small-scale nuclear reactors aimed at supplying power to data centers, with the company targeting initial deployment later this decade, subject to regulatory approval.
By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com
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