The Nuclear Regulatory Commission held a mandatory hearing Tuesday in Port Lavaca, Texas, on an application from Long Mott Energy to build an advanced reactor at Dow Chemical's Seadrift manufacturing site in Calhoun County. NRC staff presented the findings of their safety and environmental reviews during the session and took public comments and questions from residents, with an open house preceding the formal hearing. The agency is accepting written comments and questions through early October as part of the ongoing review process. The proposed facility would add advanced reactor generation to an industrial site already home to significant chemical manufacturing operations, part of a broader trend of pairing new reactor designs with large industrial energy users rather than building solely for traditional utility grids.

The Long Mott review is moving forward under a construction permit process that the NRC has worked to speed up in response to recent executive orders and the ADVANCE Act, legislation intended to streamline the agency's licensing procedures for new reactor technology. NRC officials have said the agency is collaborating with other federal partners to shorten review timelines while preserving its existing safety standards. The Seadrift project is one of several advanced reactor applications working through the commission's review pipeline this year as developers seek to pair small and mid-sized reactor designs with industrial customers who need steady, round the clock power. A final licensing decision for the Long Mott project is expected to follow the conclusion of the current hearing process.

Source: Nuclear Regulatory Commission - https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/news-releases/2026/nrc-advisory-nrc-hold-mandatory-hearing-proposed-long-mott-generating-station