By STEVE BRAWNER
Could new nuclear reactors be in Arkansas’ future?
They could if money is available, Entergy Corporation Chairman and CEO Drew Marsh said Monday.
Marsh spoke during a question-and-answer session at the Arkansas Economic Development Foundation’s 2026 Luncheon in Little Rock. With him was Entergy Arkansas President and CEO Laura Landreaux.
Entergy Corporation is the parent corporation of Entergy Arkansas. It operates in four states, the others being Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
Marsh said a 2020 company study of regional electricity use found the amount sold will triple or quadruple by 2050.
He said that need cannot be served by natural gas and solar.
“You’re going to need nuclear, and so we believe that new nuclear is going to be part of the future here in Arkansas,” he said. “And we’re very engaged with all the different vendors on how that might work, whether they’re small modular reactors – SMRs – or the larger reactors like they built over in Georgia.”
He was referring to two new Plant Vogtle nuclear units, whose total costs far exceeded original projections.
Indeed, cost will be a huge issue. To pay for it, Entergy would need help from one of two sources. One would be the federal government, which he said has shown an interest in nuclear power. The other would be the big data center customers like Google that are building in Arkansas and have the money to help, if doing so could benefit themselves.
“And we are working on some ideas to do that, but I think those are the prerequisites to get to new nuclear,” he said. “But I do believe it will happen.”
Arkansas, as I’m sure you know, is already home to Entergy’s two Arkansas Nuclear One units near Russellville. Those facilities are aging. Unit 1 began commercial operations in 1974, while Unit 2 came online in 1980. The company has applied to extend the licenses another 20 years beyond 2034 and 2038, when they expire.
Entergy Arkansas is also bringing online three new electricity plants in Arkansas – two natural gas and one solar. Ratepayers will see a $5.77 monthly increase. Across the four-state system, Entergy Corporation has orders in place for 26 gas plant projects.
The need to expand electricity production is being driven in part by huge data centers owned by companies like Google, which recently announced it was building a $4 billion facility in West Memphis. A Department of Energy report in 2024 found data centers nationwide accounted for roughly 4.4% of U.S. electricity consumption in 2023. That demand could increase to between 6.7% and 12% by 2028. They also use a lot of water. Electric vehicles are another energy hog.
Entergy says it will ensure these new huge electricity users will pay for what they use. It recently unveiled its Fair Share Plus pledge stating that data centers will pay for all the incremental costs they create as well as their share of existing costs.
“I pledge to you today that we are taking on these types of loads responsibly, ensuring that they are paying their fair share plus, and that our grid can handle these large loads,” Landreaux said. “And more importantly, that everybody is benefiting from it.”
I should point out that the morning that the two spoke in Little Rock, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette ran a front-page story about the lack of transparency behind Entergy’s rate contract with Google. The Democrat-Gazette obtained a copy of Entergy’s application to the Public Service Commission and its contract with Google, but the state agency had blacked out many of the details.
Big companies like Google tend to want to keep things secret. That doesn’t mean Entergy won’t be keeping its pledge. The public just won’t have all the information to ensure that it is.
Energy is already one of the state’s big stories, and it will only get bigger for several reasons. First, it’s a top concern for employers deciding where to locate their operations. Second, the southern part of the state has vast lithium reserves. These could make Arkansas a global power in the battery storage industry.
And now this: The head of the state’s most important energy company says “new nuclear” is needed, and he believes it “will happen.”
Stay tuned.
Steve Brawner’s column is syndicated to 24 news outlets in Arkansas. Email him at brawnersteve@mac.com.