Fermi America, a Texas-based company co-founded by former US Energy Secretary Rick Perry, announced on Thursday its plans to construct the nation’s largest energy and data complex, dubbed “Hypergrid.” This ambitious project, set to launch on July 4th, will be powered by a combination of nuclear, natural gas, and solar energy, and will involve a partnership with Texas Tech University.
Rick Perry, who also served as the Governor of Texas, emphasized the urgency of this initiative, highlighting China’s rapid development of 22 nuclear reactors while the US currently has none under construction. “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,” Perry stated.
Project Scope and Concerns
The “Hypergrid” campus in Amarillo has the potential to generate up to 11 gigawatts (GW) of new power from nuclear, gas, and solar sources, which is enough to supply over 8.2 million homes. Fermi America anticipates the first 1 GW to be online by late 2026. However, the company has not yet disclosed the project’s estimated cost or its financing strategy.
If completed, this would become the largest nuclear power complex in the US. This comes at a time when interest in new nuclear plant construction has surged following President Donald Trump’s executive orders last month aimed at fast-tracking new reactor applications and overhauling the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
Despite this renewed interest, nuclear critics and some proponents have raised concerns that the overhaul could be detrimental to the industry, potentially prioritizing politics over safety and public health. This sentiment was amplified by Trump’s recent dismissal of Democratic NRC commissioner Chris Hanson.
US nuclear power projects have historically faced significant delays and cost overruns. The last reactor to come online in the US was in Georgia last year, with the final two reactors at Vogtle costing over $30 billion combined, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
The NRC is currently reviewing applications from Fermi, which are expected to be made public soon. The Washington Post reported that the project has applied for four 1-GW nuclear reactors, though Fermi has not yet confirmed this detail.
Strategic Location and Future Vision
The nearly 5,800-acre (2,347-hectare) campus will also feature capacity for large artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. Its strategic location near the Department of Energy’s Pantex nuclear weapons plant “underscores Fermi’s strategic position to build clean, safe, new nuclear power for America’s next-generation AI,” Fermi stated. The site also benefits from its proximity to some of the largest US gas pipelines and sits atop a significant natural gas field.
