Phoenix, Ariz. - The Arizona Corporation Commission held its first in a series of workshops on “Advancing Nuclear Power Generation” on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. Vice Chairman Nick Myers and Commissioner René Lopez hosted the event, with the purpose of educating stakeholders and the public on the state of Advanced Nuclear Power Generation in the U.S. and Arizona, and to set the expectations of future development. “With the load growth that is coming to our state, from data centers, industrial, and even residential, nuclear is an important part of that growth discussion,” stated Vice Chairman Myers in his opening comments, “As you are all aware, we are an ‘all of the above approach’ commission, and nuclear is one of the key components of that, as it is all across the nation.”  

 “Nuclear power has proven to be a safe and reliable cornerstone of Arizona’s baseload energy for the past 40 years,” stated Commissioner René Lopez. “In light of the massive load demands our utilities are expecting in the next 5 to 10 years, all technologies—including nuclear—must be considered to meet Arizona’s short-term and long-term needs. This first workshop explores the challenges nuclear development faces, different types of nuclear technology available, and lessons learned from other nuclear projects in North America that can illuminate a path forward for additional nuclear power generation in Arizona.”

“Nuclear is baseload, carbon-free energy and as a country, we need to move rapidly to unleash commercial nuclear power to ensure energy reliability at the most affordable rates,” said Commissioner Lea Márquez Peterson.

 The workshop included presentations from Arizona Public Service, Salt River Project, Georgia Power Company and Ontario Power Generation in Canada.  X-energy, a private American nuclear reactor and fuel design engineering company, also delivered a presentation of its Generation IV high-temperature gas-cooled pebble bed reactor.  In addition, nuclear experts presented the opportunities and challenges of new nuclear power in the United States.

APS, TEP, and SRP representatives delivered an update on their joint application for a U.S. Department of Energy grant which aims to identify a new site for new nuclear generation. The utilities anticipate an announcement on the grant approval by the end of this year.

 “I appreciated the update from our utilities on their nuclear efforts and believe it is important to continue to educate Arizona residents on the importance of nuclear energy to meeting our current and future energy load,” said Commissioner Márquez Peterson. “I have had interest for several years in exploring the expansion of nuclear energy in Arizona. Since 2023, I have co-chaired the NARUC / NASEO Advanced Nuclear State Collaborative which assists with the education of our states, creating awareness and conducting research.  This past week, I attended the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) Policy Forum and spoke on a panel about Arizona’s regulatory environment and the growing energy demand driven by data center and AI growth. There was discussion on how state commissions consider the cost of future nuclear projects, possible partnerships, financing projects and the role of the federal government especially with the early moving projects.” said Commissioner Márquez Peterson.

 This first workshop focused on gathering information and gain a common understanding on how new nuclear power generation can become a viable option to meet Arizona’s future energy needs.  Commissioner Lopez tasked the three local electric utilities to prepare a report for the next workshop on Advancing Nuclear Power Generation that outlines the joint-venture’s next steps, including rule or statutory changes at the state or federal level needed to facilitate additional nuclear generation in the state.  The goal of the second workshop will be to discuss the utilities’ proposal and consider what actions the Commission can take to assist with developing new nuclear generation in Arizona.

 Vice Chair Myers concluded the workshop by asking utilities and other stakeholders to file in the docket their recommended next steps: “What kind of support from this Commission do you need? Are there legislative changes needed? What about at the federal level? Basically, let us know of anything that we can do to help facilitate the speedy implementation of more nuclear generated electrons on the grid.”

 “This first workshop featured an in-depth overview on the state of nuclear and I am very pleased with the lively engagement from all the presenters, my fellow Commissioners, Staff, and members of the public,” said Commissioner Lopez. “I look forward to working with APS, SRP, TEP, and other stakeholders to more thoroughly discuss what is needed from a local, state, and federal level to support future nuclear development in Arizona.”