WASHINGTON, June 26 (Reuters) – Fermi America, a Texas company co-founded by former U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, aims to build the largest energy and data complex of its kind, powered by nuclear, natural gas, and solar energy, the company said Thursday.
Fermi plans to partner with Texas Tech University on the “Hypergrid” project, which is set to launch on July 4.
Perry, who also served as Texas governor, emphasized that China is building 22 nuclear reactors, while the U.S. is building none.
“We’re behind — and it’s all hands on deck. We need to be doing everything in our power to win this race, because this is the race that really matters.”
Interest in building new nuclear plants has spiked after President Donald Trump issued executive orders last month to fast-track applications for new reactors and overhaul the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Nuclear critics and some proponents have criticized the overhaul as potentially detrimental to the industry, putting politics ahead of safety and public health. Trump also fired Democratic NRC commissioner Chris Hanson earlier this month.
Fermi said the Amarillo campus could deliver up to 11 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear, gas, and solar power — enough to serve more than 8.2 million homes. The first 1 GW is expected to go online by late 2026. The company did not disclose total cost or financing details.
The project will be the largest U.S. nuclear power complex, Fermi said, but no completion date was given. U.S. nuclear projects have often faced delays and overruns; the most recent reactor came online last year in Georgia.
The last two Vogtle reactors in Georgia cost more than $30 billion, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The NRC is reviewing applications from Fermi that should be made public soon. The Washington Post reported the company applied for four 1-GW nuclear reactors, though Fermi has not confirmed this.
The nearly 5,800-acre (2,347-hectare) campus will also support large-scale artificial intelligence data centers.
Located near the Department of Energy’s Pantex nuclear weapons plant, the site “underscores Fermi’s strategic position to build clean, safe, new nuclear power for America’s next-generation AI,” the company said.
The site also sits near some of the largest U.S. gas pipelines and atop a large natural gas field.