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Q: How did TANEO come to be and what is Governor Greg Abbott’s vision for the nuclear energy industry in Texas?

A: Back in August of 2023 the Governor Greg Abbott put forth a directive to the Public Utility Commission of Texas to establish the Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group to study the emerging advanced nuclear reactor energy industry and provide recommendations to position Texas as the headquarters of the American nuclear renaissance. 

Over 100 stakeholders participated over the course of a year and submitted the report to Governor Abbott just prior to our 89th Texas Legislature, which became the basis of what ended up being House Bill 14. House Bill 14 by Cody Harris and Senator Charles Schwertner created the Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Office (TANEO), and in doing so sent a signal to the world that Texas is serious about leading on advanced nuclear energy and developing the ecosystem.

 In addition to TANEO’s creation, the 89th Texas Legislature also invested $350 million in the form of two reimbursement grant programs designed to support commercialization of the advanced reactor, fuel cycle, and manufacturing industries here in Texas.  

Q: What are TANEO’s primary objectives/duties?

A: TANEO is the strategic leader for the advance nuclear energy industry and is tasked with the responsibility of promoting and developing this industry in Texas. TANEO is responsible for submitting a biennial strategic plan to the Texas Legislature, creating a short-, mid- and long-term vision for the advanced nuclear energy industry in Texas, and work with stakeholders to ensure Texas can best position itself to lead.  

TANEO is also responsible to serve as a nuclear permitting co-ordinator for the State of Texas. TANEO is not a regulatory entity, but rather a liaison to help accelerate project developers through the state permitting process. 

So, developers can come to TANEO, tell us about their project, and we can identify potential permits on the state level a project may need to obtain and connect the developer with a direct contact at each respective state permitting agency. Really, it’s just trying to help business move at the speed of business, rather than the speed of government.

Q: Describe the two grant programs and what they’re designed to do.

A: The $350 million fund is the nation’s largest state-level investment specifically created to develop and support the commercialization of the advanced nuclear industry in Texas. So, there are two reimbursement grant programs within that fund. 

One is called the Project Development and Supply Chain Reimbursement Grant Program, and the idea of this one is to support initial investment in nuclear projects in Texas, with a real emphasis on developing the manufacturing capacity and fuel supply chain in Texas. 

This grant program can provide individual grants up to $12.5 million. And eligible reimbursement expenses are those related to the development of a nuclear project-– early site permitting work at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), environmental reviews, but also increasing the manufacturing capacity and developing the fuel cycle here in the State of Texas. 

I think that part of Governor Abbott's vision is that he sees Texas not only as an energy leader, but also the industrial manufacturing capacity leader in this space. We have the skilled workforce, in Texas we do big projects, and there's a real opportunity for a lot of our oil and gas equipment manufacturers or local welders to excel in this forthcoming industry. 

The second program is called the Advanced Nuclear Construction Reimbursement Program, and it's designed to help de-risk long capital exposure activities, such as the procurement of long lead time components, NRC-related licensing fees, and construction-related activities for a nuclear project. This grant program can provide individual grants of up to $120 million. 

A qualifier here, though, is the project has to have a permit or a license docketed at the NRC to be eligible for reimbursement. This one's a little bit more geared towards those fuel cycle facilities and reactor projects. Whereas that first program is a little bit more open-ended, this one is a little bit more targeted towards helping support those bigger projects here in Texas.

Q: When should people expect the grant programs to open up for applications? And how can people stay up to date on TANEO?

A: We will be releasing two Request for Applications (RFA)s, one for each grant program. We are expecting to release the RFAs by the end of March. We will reviewing and selecting applications during quarter two and hope to enter into grant award agreements for grant projects to begin by September of this year. It’s a quick timeline, but the industry and our office are very motivated to get projects up and going.  

The best way to stay up to date and know when that's coming is to visit the TANEO website at https://gov.texas.gov/organization/taneo and sign up for our email distribution list.

Q: Looking ahead to the EPC Show's Nuclear Engineering & Construction Conference, can you share your thoughts on why bringing the nuclear community together in this forum is important, whether in terms of the timing of it or the particular panel you will lead?

A: I think now is the time to form these long-term partnerships. Many of these reactors are going through their demonstration projects, but now is the time to enter into these long-term contractual arrangements to be ready for the commercialization of this industry. 

Finding these partners now is going to be really critical to keep up the tempo and the momentum of this growth and the opportunity here in Texas to really harness this industry. So, I think it's timely that the conference will be happening when it is, because now's the time to start getting to work. The future is now, and we've really got to start getting after it.

Q: The panel discussion you are leading will be on how EPCs, OEMs, utilities, and owners are structuring delivery, contracting and supply chains for North American nuclear builds. What are you hoping will emerge from the panel discussion, and from the conference more broadly?

A: I think one hope is for the takeaway to be that Texas is serious about being the nation’s leader in the advanced nuclear energy industry. TANEO’s mission is to support its development in Texas and ensure Texas is the place where reactor companies build and succeed. 

We have the electric demand growth signals, we have the workforce, we have the industrial know-how, and we do big things here in Texas. So, what we really want to show the world at this conference is that we want this industry to succeed, and we want this industry to succeed here in Texas.