The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff has accepted for review two initial submissions of a Combined Licence application from Fermi America, containing sufficient design information for four Westinghouse AP1000 reactors near Amarillo in Carson County, Texas.
Fermi America submitted the first portion of the application in June, providing general, financial and environmental information and the second portion 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.
As part of its ongoing efforts to improve regulatory efficiency, the NRC is exploring innovative approaches to environmental reviews. The agency is working with Fermi America in a pilot programme to develop an applicant-prepared document under the National Environmental Policy Act. Fermi America is expected to submit site-specific information throughout 2026.
The proposed reactors would be part of a hybrid energy and data infrastructure project. At the appropriate time, the NRC will publish a notice of opportunity to request an adjudicatory hearing on the application before the NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.
The proposed project, which will be called the “President Donald J Trump Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus” (also known as Project Matador) involves a HyperGrid – an 11 GWe hybrid energy and data infrastructure hub adjacent to the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Pantex Plant, the nation’s primary nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility.
Fermi America, founded by former US Energy Secretary Rick Perry, plans to integrate four Westinghouse AP1000 reactors with what it describes as the “nation’s biggest combined-cycle gas plant”, along with solar generation, battery storage, and utility grid ties to support up to 18 million square feet of artificial intelligence (AI) capacity. Fermi had plans to begin nuclear construction in 2026 putting its first AP1000 online in 2032. Fermi first announced the project in June.
