Kentucky’s largest utility says it’s partnering with a Maryland-based company building a new generation of small nuclear reactors to “explore” bringing the modular power plants to the state. 

A release Thursday from Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities (LG&E and KU) states its collaborating with X-energy to bring the publicly-traded company’s Xe-100 small, modular reactors to “meet growing energy demand across the Commonwealth with long-term, reliable, clean energy.” 

The release states LG&E and KU and X-energy have “begun early project feasibility activities” to see if the company’s small reactors can support the electricity grid’s reliability and serve power-intensive operations including data centers. 

“We have an all-of-the-above approach to our power generation fleet that’s among the most reliable in the nation,” said LG&E and KU President John Crockett in a statement. “This collaboration will explore whether nuclear energy fits into our long-term plans.” 

X-energy is one of a number of companies trying to develop a new generation of small, modular nuclear reactors that are scaled down in size compared to larger, traditional nuclear power plants. Such reactors can be factory-built and transported to a location to serve electricity load. The release states the Xe-100 reactors have the capacity to produce 80 megawatts of electricity each unit and can be paired in four-unit or 12-unit power plants. 

Crockett also referenced a new grant program established by Kentucky lawmakers this year that would allow a state nuclear energy authority to provide grants, up to $25 million each, to subsidize the costs of seeking federal licenses and permits to locate nuclear power plants in the state. 

The legislation that created the grant program, Senate Bill 57, would also allow utilities to seek permission from the Kentucky Public Service Commission to recover costs from ratepayers, not already covered by existing rates, of seeking such federal permits. A Kentucky environmental legal group had warned earlier this year the legislation would turn ratepayers “into a bank” to cover permitting costs regardless of if the nuclear power plant makes sense to build or if the plant is ever built. 

Crockett called the design of the Xe-100 reactor “one of the safest nuclear designs on the market” and that he looked forward “to working with X-energy and hyperscalers on this effort and the prospect of participating” in the grant program. 

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