First small nuclear reactors apply to join the Texas grid, to power a Crusoe data center
Nuclear startup Blue Energy has asked the Texas grid operator to connect up to five small reactors meant to power a Crusoe data center. Gas plants would come first, in 2030 and 2031, with the first reactor expected in 2033.
Blue Energy, a nuclear startup based in Maryland, has applied to connect a group of small nuclear reactors to the Texas power grid. The grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, known as ERCOT, says it is the first application it has ever received for small modular reactors, a newer and smaller type of nuclear plant. The request appeared in data ERCOT released shortly before the report.
The plan is for as many as five reactors of 300 megawatts each, or up to 1.5 gigawatts in all. Bloomberg reports that is about enough for 260,000 Texas homes. The reactors would use a design from GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy and would supply a data center run by Crusoe. Blue Energy expects the first one to be in service in 2033.
Nuclear is not the first step. Blue Energy plans to start with about 1 gigawatt of natural gas generation, and ERCOT data shows two gas units due to begin running in 2030 and 2031. The company has already applied to connect those. The filing comes as Texas has ordered a temporary pause on new data center projects after a public backlash.
Why it matters
This is the "bring your own power" path in practice: a data center project lining up its own generation, with gas as the bridge and small reactors as the goal. It is also the first time a small reactor project has formally asked to join the Texas grid, which moves the idea from press releases into a grid operator's records.
Reality check
An application is a request, not an approval, and the article reports no approval of any kind. The gas plants come years before any reactor, and 2033 is the company's own estimate. Texas has also paused new data center projects for now.