A Nuclear Power Plant May Be Next for New Mexico

Februari 06, 2026

Introduction

The idea of a nuclear power plant—or expanded nuclear energy infrastructure—in New Mexico has gained attention as energy demand grows and long-term planning evolves. While there is currently no fully approved traditional utility-scale nuclear power plant already under construction, a range of related developments suggest the region is once again prominent in discussions about nuclear energy production, nuclear fuel work, and associated infrastructure.

This article explains the status of nuclear energy prospects in New Mexico, what’s currently underway, why the topic matters to policymakers and communities, and what potential implications could be if a power plant or related nuclear facility were to be developed.

Current Energy Landscape in New Mexico

New Mexico’s existing electricity mix is dominated by renewable and conventional sources such as wind, solar, natural gas, and coal. Nuclear power has not, historically, been a major source of grid electricity within the state itself. Recent energy data shows:

Wind power contributes a significant portion of the state’s electricity generation.
Solar and other renewables continue to grow.
Nuclear power is not currently listed as an operational generation source in the state’s main generation portfolio.

Despite this, New Mexico is increasingly part of nuclear energy discussions and projects due to broader U.S. energy planning and private initiatives.

Proposed Nuclear-Linked Power and Infrastructure Projects

1. Large-Scale Energy and Data Center Hub

A major development agreement in Lea County has been announced where a land option purchase could eventually support up to 7 gigawatts of electricity for a future AI data center and associated power generation. This proposal includes:

Around 2 GW of natural gas generation initially.
Potentially 5 GW or more of nuclear generation capacity as part of the long-term plan.

Although this does not yet mean a nuclear power plant is under construction, it signals developer interest in nuclear as part of a broader energy strategy for high-demand uses such as data centers.

2. Advanced Nuclear and Fuel-Related Activity

Other nuclear-related work in New Mexico includes:

Urenco USA, a major uranium enrichment facility, has received permission to produce low-enriched uranium (up to 10% enrichment) at its Eunice, New Mexico site. This enriched uranium plays a role in civilian nuclear fuel supply chains.
Holtec International abandoned its long-proposed spent fuel storage project in the state, indicating community, regulatory, and economic challenges remain around nuclear waste storage.

These activities show parts of the nuclear ecosystem—fuel production and waste handling—continue to intersect with New Mexico’s economic planning.

Regulatory and Legal Groundwork

In June 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court decision cleared legal pathways for nuclear waste storage facilities in Texas and New Mexico, which can influence future infrastructure planning. The ruling set aside a lower court’s blocking of licenses for such facilities, although New Mexico’s own litigation and opposition remain active.

This legal context matters because nuclear plant planning and siting often require concurrent decisions about fuel handling, waste storage, and federal versus state oversight.

Why Nuclear Is Being Considered Again

Interest in nuclear power and related facilities in the U.S. stems from broader energy concerns:

Energy demand growth, especially from power-intensive industries such as AI and data centers.
Desire for low-carbon baseload electricity to complement intermittent renewables.
Federal emphasis on domestic nuclear fuel supply and energy security.

New Mexico’s geographical position, existing industrial base, and workforce development connections make it a plausible candidate for future nuclear investment.

How Nuclear Might Fit Into New Mexico’s Future

If a nuclear power plant were to be pursued in New Mexico, it would likely involve several steps:

Feasibility and Planning
— Detailed site studies, economic impact assessments, grid integration planning, and environmental review.
Regulatory Approval
— Nuclear plants require Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing; states often require complementary permits.
Community and Tribal Consultation
— Engagement with local stakeholders, including tribal governments, landowners, and environmental groups.
Infrastructure and Supply Chain Development
— Establishing long-lead item manufacturing, construction workforce training, and potential partnerships with enrichment or fuel manufacturing facilities.

Potential Benefits

Should New Mexico host a nuclear generation facility, possible benefits could include:

Reliable, low-carbon energy generation to support economic growth.
Job creation in construction, operations, and ancillary services.
Diversification of the state’s energy mix beyond renewables and fossil fuels.

Challenges and Considerations

Any nuclear power facility proposal also carries challenges:

High capital costs and long project timelines.
Regulatory and permitting complexity.
Waste management and long-term disposal solutions.
Public perception and safety concerns.

New Mexico’s previous nuclear waste storage debate demonstrates these issues are material in public discourse.

Nuclear Workforce and Education

New Mexico is also investing in the next generation of nuclear engineers and technologists. Academic programs and educational collaborations—such as nuclear engineering camps at the University of New Mexico—help build local workforce capacity.

Such human capital development is a foundational step toward hosting more advanced nuclear infrastructure in the future.

Conclusion

While a traditional commercial nuclear power plant is not yet officially underway in New Mexico, a series of developments suggest the region is actively being considered for nuclear-related energy infrastructure. Large land agreements that include nuclear generation potential, enrichment and fuel production licensing, legal resolutions on waste storage, and workforce programming all point toward New Mexico being part of the evolving nuclear energy landscape.

For policymakers, utility planners, and communities, moving from concept to reality will require careful planning, regulatory alignment, economic evaluation, and public engagement. The state’s energy future could include nuclear as part of a diversified, low-carbon portfolio—but significant groundwork remains before reactors begin supplying electricity to the grid.

Summary:

We continue the series entitled, �New Mexico Joins the Nuclear Renaissance,� and discover New Mexican lawmakers want a nuclear reactor in their state. How popular is this idea?

Keywords:

Energy, nuclear, nuclear reactor, nuclear power plant, New Mexico

Article Body:

Federal lawmakers patted themselves on the back, last Friday, in a joint bi-partisan news release issued by three New Mexico politicians: U.S. Senators Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman, and U.S. Congressman Steve Pearce. Their celebratory remarks were meant to remind voters why the politicians were in Washington � to bring their state new jobs for at least some of New Mexico�s voters. While the chorus of praise revolved around creating new jobs and bringing millions of dollars into the state�s economy, is there more behind this story, which has not yet been told?

For Senator Domenici, this was another major victory as the longest serving U.S. Senator in New Mexico�s history. The Republican Senator heads the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Domenici made his views on nuclear energy quite clear in his book �A Brighter Tomorrow: Fulfilling the Promise of Nuclear Energy� (Rowman & Littlefield, 2004). He began pursuing Louisiana Energy Services to move to New Mexico in February 2003, after it became apparent Hartsville, Tennessee didn�t want uranium being enriched in their backyard.

And again, it was Domenici, whose last minute negotiations with Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, led to the adoption of the Part 810 Waiver. The waiver allowed Louisiana Energy Services (LES) to contact foreign-owned Urenco Ltd about transferring high technology data (the gas centrifuge technology) to LES so the uranium enrichment technology could be utilized at the new facility. U.S. laws ordinarily prohibit such nuclear technology transfers, but Domenici�s intervention brought the project to the NRC approval stage. LES had been on the drawing boards since 1989, having derived its name from the state of Louisiana. The LES partnership was initially formed with the intent of building its centrifuge enrichment plant in Homer, Louisiana.

Senator Domenici�s impact upon the nuclear resurgence in the United States is evident to the entire industry and most politicians. He announced last year, �In 1997, I predicted the resurgence of nuclear energy in the United States. For the last eight years, I have worked to help make that renaissance a reality.� Is there, perhaps, one more achievement Senator Domenici would like to add on behalf of the nuclear industry, before giving up his Senate seat? In his book, �A Brighter Tomorrow,� Domenici bemoans and condemns nuclear fuel reprocessing. With the advent of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), Domenici may bring a nuclear power plant to New Mexico before he retires.

Domenici�s Democratic counterpart, Senator Jeff Bingaman, is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee. We suspect Bingaman may play an integral role in helping Senator Domenici fulfill that dream. Ironically, Senator Bingaman, who last November was invited to a Santa Fe anti-nuclear environmentalist fundraiser, and which highlighted television mogul Ted Turner, was effusive in saying about the LES enrichment facility, �This will be one of the largest construction projects our state has ever seen. And the economic impact in southeastern New Mexico will be tremendous.� Does Bingaman appear to be playing both sides of the nuclear chessboard?

No, the former attorney, who reportedly once provided legal advice to uranium mining powerhouse, Kerr McGee, is deftly maneuvering between being a good Democrat and providing what he may honestly believe is best for his state. While Bingaman has curried favor among the environmentalists, in May of this year, he accepted, along with Domenici and others, the William S. Lee Award for Leadership at the Nuclear Energy Institute�s (NEI) annual conference, saying, �I share a belief that nuclear power can make a meaningful contribution to controlling the growth of greenhouse gases, while still allowing our economy to expand.� It was his subsequent remark directed at the NEI, which leads us to believe he may be among the first to support additional nuclear growth in New Mexico. He told the NEI, �I am hoping that you will do your part to use those tools that Congress has put in place to ensure that nuclear power achieves its potential as part of our future energy mix.�

The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership

In March 2006, Senator Domenici pledged his support to President Bush�s Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP),

�With GNEP, we begin to close the cycle on nuclear waste in ways that prevent proliferation and reduce both the volume and toxicity of waste. By recycling spent nuclear fuel, we can reuse the uranium, which is 96 percent of spent fuel, and separate the most toxic radioactive material to be burned in an advanced burner reactor. By reusing uranium fuel and burning the transuranic material in a new generation of modern reactors, we can reduce the amount of waste placed in Yucca Mountain by a factor of 100.�

One of the key technologies in the GNEP program in is the Advanced Burner Reactor (ABR). Deriving its technology from fast reactors, which were used to make nuclear weapons, the concept of the ABR is to minimize the amount of nuclear waste, produced by the nuclear industry�s power plants, to a tiny fraction of content. The concept behind the ABR is to �burn� the transuranic elements, such as plutonium and other long-living radioactive material. In this case, burning the radioactive waste is translated as: destroying the transuranics, by converting them into shorter-lived isotopes. When the transuranic elements are consumed by the ABR, a large amount of energy is released and then converted into electricity.

Instead of burying several football fields of nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain (or elsewhere) for one million years, the toxic waste would be recycled as energy to be immediately used to power homes and industry. Part of the GNEP plan is to combine the current, or advanced, light water reactors with the ABR. As the light water nuclear reactors produce transuranics, the ABRs consume those highly radioactive elements. This leaves less nuclear waste for future disposal, and immediately provides energy.

The major issue in the western United States, about nuclear waste, is �please don�t put it in our backyard.� Several western states have been approached, and even the Carlsbad area was once discussed. Through the ABR technology, it may be possible to minimize the amount of this waste to make it a less undesirable disposal problem. A look at local New Mexico politics may provide an insight as to where the two U.S. senators may be heading with regards to a nuclear power plant for New Mexico.

New Mexico�s Enrichment Facility:

Prelude to a Nuclear Power Plant?

If Federal lawmakers are happy about the proposed uranium enrichment facility, some of New Mexico�s state politicians were still floating on clouds when we talked to them yesterday. New Mexico legislator John A. Heaton, the Democratic representative serving Carlsbad, waxed enthusiastic about the enrichment facility, �It�s the first step in converting this country to nuclear energy.�

Mainly the four state senators and representatives, whom we interviewed, echoed each other�s praise about Urenco�s proposed enrichment facility. �I could not be more pleased,� Senator Carroll H. Leavell told us. �It will have a major, very positive impact on the economy.� At the peak of construction, as many as 1200 workers may be employed. Later, when the facility is operational, about 300 workers will remain. All four were pleasantly surprised that town hall hearings for the proposed facility were overwhelmingly positive, and the local citizens would be delighted to have this facility in built in southeastern New Mexico. Senator Leavell said with disgust, �Most of the (anti-nuclear) protests have come from outside our area, places like San Francisco, DC and Santa Fe.�

Senators Leavell and Gay G. Kernan, the state senator from Hobbs, were invited by Urenco Ltd. to tour an enrichment technology plant in Almelo, Netherlands and left impressed with the company, its honesty and especially the management�s attitude of looking at both sides of the issues. Both state senators also observed the surrounding community failed to be negatively impacted by the enrichment facility.

Looking for deeper insights into what the future might hold, we asked all four about the possibility of a nuclear power plant in New Mexico. All four agreed it would be desirable. Additional comments by the four state politicians led us to believe there might be a second step, following Heaton�s remark about the enrichment facility being the first step.

Donald L. Whitaker, the Democratic legislator from Eunice, the closest town to the proposed enrichment facility, told us, �I would like to see a nuclear reactor in New Mexico.� Whitaker has toured a nuclear facility, and believes one would be great for the state�s economy. �They employ about one thousand and bring high-paying jobs,� he said. Representative Whitaker was not the lone voice among his fellow eastern New Mexican legislators.

�Yes, we want a nuclear reactor in New Mexico,� Representative Heaton said. Heaton is the legislature�s Vice Chairman of the Radioactive and Hazardous Materials committee and a member of the Energy & Natural Resources Committee. He discussed the ABR technology and GNEP, explaining how this would solve the waste disposal problem of nuclear reactors and sway public opinion on nuclear energy.

Senator Leavell took a more cautious approach, explaining how nuclear reactors need tremendous amounts of water. �I don�t think New Mexico could have a nuclear reactor, not with the current technology.� But, he still agreed it would be a good idea if new technologies were developed, which used less water.

Senator Gay Kernan told us, �I don�t know if I should be talking about this, but we are one of the candidates for the GNEP program.� Having heard a rumor that General Atomics may propose building a nuclear power plant in eastern New Mexico, Senator Kernan confirmed such a plant may be on the drawing boards, and telling us West Texas is likely to be developed as an �alternative energy corridor.� She told us, �It would stretch from Carlsbad, New Mexico to the Odessa-Midland, Texas area.� Senator Kernan would also like New Mexico to have a nuclear plant, �I don�t have a problem with that.�

The third politician, joining Senators Domenici and Bingaman, in praising the NRC approval of a draft license for LES and Urenco Ltd, was U.S. Congressman Steve Pearce. Comments, issued by his press secretary on Friday and praising the LES announcement, may foreshadow New Mexico�s next step, �Today�s announcement marks a major milestone in our efforts to cement our state�s leadership role in the development of alternative energy.� What greater leadership by a state than in introducing the new GNEP ABR technology in New Mexico? After all, the state of New Mexico remains the founding home to nuclear technology, where the world�s first atomic technology was designed at Los Alamos.

In a related development, David Watts, President of the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, recently met with Congressman Pearce about developing a helium-cooled nuclear reactor facility, which would be built underground in either Lea County, New Mexico or Andrews County, Texas. General Atomics of San Diego has funded the pre-conceptual design, which is underway and scheduled for completion in August. Waste Control Specialists has a low-level radioactive waste storage site in Andrews County. Realistically, a nuclear reactor in New Mexico is not out of the question. The legislators may get what they want. We believe Senator Domenici will ultimately set into motion the plans to bring New Mexico its first nuclear power plant. It would become his crowning achievement in helping the nuclear renaissance blossom in this country and in his state.