Legislation designed to help expand nuclear energy in Texas has been signed into law by the governor.
House Bill 14 by State Rep. Cody Harris (R–Palestine) creates the Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Office under the direct administration of the governor’s office.
“Texas is the energy capital of the world, and this legislation will position Texas at the forefront of America’s nuclear renaissance,” Abbott said in a press release.
The Advanced Nuclear Energy Office was created to coordinate efforts and lead the expansion of Texas’ nuclear development.
To do this, the office will collaborate with state and local leaders to provide the state with a “balanced energy future,” ensure the safety and security of nuclear energy, and otherwise support the development of this new energy sector.
“This initiative will also strengthen Texas’ nuclear manufacturing capacity, rebuild a domestic fuel cycle supply chain, and train the future nuclear workforce,” Abbott explained.
It will assist with business permitting and the regulatory process in addition to evaluating applicant companies for the three types of grants the office will facilitate under the Texas Advanced Nuclear Development Fund.
The first of these grants is the Project Development and Supply Chain Reimbursement Program, which is for expenses associated with the initial development of an advanced nuclear project in the state.
The grant may not exceed more than 50 percent of the project’s qualifying expenses or $12.5 million.
The second grant is the Advanced Nuclear Construction Reimbursement program, intended for construction expenses.
This grant may not exceed more than 50 percent of qualifying expenses or $120 million. If an application is accepted, the money would be disbursed on a rolling basis for expenses as they arise.
The third grant is for the completion of reactors that are interconnected with the ERCOT grid, Texas’ independent power grid.
This grant is given based on a per-megawatt basis according to the generation capacity for the nuclear plant in question.
“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,” stated Abbott.
Senate Bill 1535, authored by State Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D–Laredo) and co-authored by State Sen. Tan Parker (R–Flower Mound), is designed to further support this rising market. The bipartisan bill creates the Advanced Nuclear Energy Workforce Development program, designed to meet the projected skills and education shortage for nuclear workforce positions.
This program would provide financial assistance for various educational initiatives including research and development, outreach efforts, and higher education training programs.
It also seeks to develop academic pathways from secondary school to higher education in related fields and the aforementioned training programs.
Additionally, the program would work with current educational institutions to develop customized curriculum requirements for degree and certificate programs.
Job training and education measures would prioritize the following fields:
- nuclear-grade welding
- radiological control and monitoring
- reactor operations
- nuclear instrument action and control
- nuclear, electrical, chemical, civil, and environmental engineering
Lawmakers also passed a few other notable energy-focused pieces of legislation during the 89th Legislative Session.
Senate Bill 75 by State Sen. Bob Hall (R–Edgewood) creates the Texas Grid Security Commission.
The Texas Grid Security Commission is intended to improve cooperation with federal agencies like the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense to protect Texas’ energy systems, especially nuclear energy.
Established to prevent power outages like those of 2011 and 2021, the commission also prioritizes addressing and preventing physical and cybersecurity attacks.
The proposal also includes training for the Texas National Guard to defend against cybersecurity threats to the energy grid.
Senate Bill 75 also requires the Public Utility Commission of Texas to conduct simulated or tabletop load shedding exercises with electric generation service providers.
The intention is to better prepare Texas’ energy grid for threats of attack or physical attacks on critical facilities.
House Bill 3228 by State Rep. Stan Lambert (R–Abilene) holds wind and solar energy farms responsible for collecting, recycling or reusing, and otherwise disposing of “all components of the wind [or solar] facility practically capable of being reused or recycled[.]”
The bill will affect wind and solar energy plants that lease land from the government.
All of these pieces of legislation were signed by Abbott late Friday.
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