Valar Atomics Proposed Massive Utah Nuclear Facility
The company has submitted plans for a large-scale project in Price, Utah, featuring hundreds of small nuclear reactors.
Updated on Sept. 30, 2026 in Data Centers
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Valar Atomics has officially submitted a proposal to federal regulators for Project Beehive, a facility in Price, Utah, that would house 456 small nuclear reactors. The massive site is designed to power data centers and industrial applications with a total capacity of 9.6 gigawatts.
Why it matters
This project seeks to leverage recent regulatory reforms designed to accelerate the development of small modular reactors for high-energy industrial needs. It marks a significant push to integrate dedicated nuclear power generation with large-scale data center infrastructure.
The proposed facility would utilize 456 individual 25-megawatt nuclear units installed in series across more than 9,000 acres of federal land. The project also requests access to an additional 650 acres of state-managed land.
The players
Valar Atomics
The private company developing small modular nuclear reactor technology for industrial and data center power requirements.
Bureau of Land Management
The federal agency responsible for managing the public land in Utah where the proposed project site is located.
Department of Energy
The U.S. government agency that accepted Valar Atomics into its Reactor Pilot Program in 2025.
The details
The facility, known as Project Beehive, plans to integrate data centers with fuel production and waste storage on-site. Construction is scheduled to occur in phases, with nonnuclear site work slated to begin by the end of 2026.
Timeline
August 2025: Valar Atomics entered the Department of Energy Reactor Pilot Program.
June 2026: The company's test reactor, Ward 250, achieved criticality.
July 1, 2026: Ward 250 produced electricity for the first time.
End of 2026: Nonnuclear construction is expected to commence.
2028: The first reactors are scheduled to come online.
The Tech Race
The proposal follows the accelerated development pathways opened by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission small modular reactor licensing reforms. This marks a departure from traditional, large-scale nuclear plants toward a model based on mass-produced, smaller units.
The potential massive increase in power generation could significantly alter the energy landscape and grid availability for Utah businesses. Residents in the Price area may see long-term shifts in local land use and industrial activity as the site develops through 2032.
The takeaway
This proposal highlights the industry trend of linking private power generation directly to high-demand data centers. As these projects move toward development, the success of the model will depend on navigating complex federal land and nuclear regulatory requirements.
What happens next
Construction of non-nuclear infrastructure at the Price, Utah site is projected to begin by the end of 2026, with the first reactors scheduled to come online in 2028.
Further reading
Learn more about the infrastructure behind modern computing on the Data Centers page.
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