Arizona’s three biggest utilities have joined forces to assess the feasibility of adding more nuclear generating capacity to the state, news site Arizona Republic reports.
The companies – Arizona Public Service (APS), the Salt River Project, and Tucson Electric Power – said they were monitoring new technologies like small modular reactors (SMRs), but didn’t rule out building full-scale nuclear stations.
APS and Salt River own shares in the state’s only existing facility, the Palo Verde Generating Station.
The companies expect electricity demand to grow as the state attracts more residents and businesses, including a data centre in the town of Mesa being built by Meta, the parent of Facebook.
Officials with Phoenix-headquartered APS said they would “assess a wide range of possible locations”, including at several coal-fired power stations in the state.
“Energy demand in Arizona is increasing rapidly,” said APS president Ted Geisler.
“While new nuclear generation would take more than a decade to develop, the planning and exploration of options must begin now.”
As well as nuclear, the utilities are developing solar and wind farms in northern Arizona that will supply a Google data centre.
Salt River is planning to boost its hydropower capacity by pumping water into higher-elevation reservoirs at night when demand is low.
The 4GW Palo Verde plant was completed in 1988. Its units are due to retire in the 2040s, but may be extended.
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