NRC seeks public comments on Project Matador environmental review

Fermi America is working with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on a pilot programme to develop applicant-prepared Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) documentation, an approach the NRC says will help to improve regulatory efficiency.

This new approach - enabled by recent amendments to the National Environmental Policy Act - allows applicants, under NRC oversight, to develop a draft EIS. "By rethinking the traditional review process, the programme is expected to reduce in-house NRC review time by approximately 50% and deliver resource savings of about 30%, all while maintaining compliance with environmental requirements," the NRC said. Fermi America is the first private company to participate in this pilot.

Fermi America is planning what it says is the world's largest energy-driven artificial intelligence complex, located in Amarillo, Texas. The behind-the-meter HyperGrid campus aims to integrate large-scale nuclear power plants, small modular reactors SMRs, and other power sources including combined-cycle natural gas, utility grid power, solar power, and battery energy storage. The company - co-founded by former US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry - plans to begin construction on the nuclear power complex this year and aims to have the first reactor operational by 2032.

Fermi America submitted the first part of its combined licence application on 17 June last year, for the proposed Fermi units 1-4 to be built in Carson County, Texas, at the President Donald J Trump Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus "commonly referred to as Project Matador". It submitted the second portion of its combined licence application to the NRC on 20 August, providing non-site-specific technical chapters of the final safety analysis report featuring the AP1000 standard certified design and other supplemental information.

"Public input at this early stage plays a critical role in shaping the environmental review," the NRC said. "Comments help identify the most relevant environmental issues and ensure the EIS is comprehensive, focused, and responsive to community concerns. The NRC is accepting comments through multiple channels until the 20 April deadline, as outlined in the Federal Register notice."