Blue Energy files NRC application for Texas data center nuclear project

The project will begin with natural-gas turbines before adding as many as five small modular reactors to power a Crusoe data center.

Blue Energy Global has submitted the first part of an application to install a small nuclear reactor at a Texas power project that will initially run on natural gas and later add nuclear generation.

The company’s project in Port of Victoria, about 140 miles southwest of Houston, is designed to supply power to a data center being developed with Crusoe.

Blue Energy expects to submit the second portion of its construction-permit application to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the second half of 2027.

The plan calls for gas turbines to be installed first, followed by as many as five small modular reactors. Blue Energy says the gas-first approach could deliver electricity faster than relying solely on nuclear systems, which can take years to approve and build.

The project is one of several efforts to use nuclear power for data centers as demand for round-the-clock electricity rises. The reactor designs remain unproven, but developers are seeking cleaner power sources that can support large computing facilities.

Blue Energy already has agreements to use gas turbines from GE Vernova and a 300-megawatt reactor design from GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy.

The company’s approach is intended to bring the site online with conventional generation before the nuclear portion is completed.

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