The US state of Texas is on track to create a taxpayer-funded incentive fund to pay for the development of nuclear power and the potential deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs) after a critical vote in the Senate on 27 May.

The Senate passed a legislative proposal that will dedicate an estimated $350m (€310m) of public money to pay for the nuclear power in Texas.

That is far below the $2bn first suggested for the fund when legislation was filed by Republican Cody Harris, and even further below what some state officials had hoped would be allocated to the nuclear fund when it was first conceived of late last year.

But supporters of the legislation see the bill’s advancement in the legislature as a clear signal that Texas’ political leadership sees a future in nuclear power.