Blue Energy and GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy on Aug. 13 announced the signing of an agreement that launches the next phase of their collaboration to deploy a 2.5 GW gas-plus-nuclear power plant in Texas.
This agreement advances engineering design, licensing, and safety analysis of the Victoria, Texas, project that will deploy both GE Vernova 7HA.02 gas turbines and GVH BWRX-300 SMRs, subject to a final investment decision in 2027.
"The agreement represents a significant step forward for Blue Energy's strategic pairing of natural gas and nuclear generation to help meet surging U.S. electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing," a news release said.
Blue Energy said its integrated approach to prefabrication, transportation, and assembly builds on the standardized, modular design of the BWRX-300 "to support execution certainty by enhancing schedule, costs and project delivery predictability through innovative logistics, off-site fabrication and super modules assembly."
Blue Energy will initially power a nearby data center with approximately 1 gigawatt of power using two GE Vernova gas turbines in 2030 and then add another 1.5 gigawatts of power from up to five GE Vernova Hitachi SMRs beginning in 2032.
"Meeting the surging demand for electricity requires proven, scalable technologies and the ability to bring them together as integrated solutions," said Eric Gray, CEO, GE Vernova's Power segment. "Our work with Blue Energy combines GE Vernova's flagship HA gas turbine technology with GE Vernova Hitachi's advanced nuclear SMR technology, while supporting Blue Energy's innovative project model. Together, we are establishing a blueprint for deploying reliable baseload power at the scale and speed customers need."
The first BWRX-300 is currently under construction at Ontario Power Generation's Darlington site in Canada, with completion expected by the end of the decade, which will make it the first grid-scale SMR in the Western world.
