Smaller nuclear reactors spark renewed interest in a once-shunned energy source [View all]
ABILENE, Texas — Bolstered by $3.2 million from a former Midland oilman, this West Texas city of 130,000 people is helping the Lone Star State lead a national nuclear energy resurgence.
Doug Robison’s 2021 donation to Abilene Christian University helped the institution win federal approval to house an advanced small modular nuclear reactor, which might be finished as soon as next year. Small modular reactors are designed to be built in factories and then moved to a site, and require less upfront capital investment than traditional large reactors.
The company Robison founded, Natura Resources, is investing another $30.5 million in the project. Only two small modular reactors are in operation, one in China and another in Russia. Natura Resources is one of two companies with federal permits to build one in the U.S.
“Nuclear is happening,” said Robison, who retired from the oil business and moved to Abilene to launch the company. “It has to happen.”
https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/07/07/smaller-nuclear-reactors-spark-renewed-interest-in-a-once-shunned-energy-source/
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