Виктория-Кантон откладывает решение по проекту Blue Energy на $6,5 млрд

$6.5B Blue Energy proposal remain undecided Published 7:00 pm Wednesday, August 26, 2026 Victoria County officials have not made a decision on Blue Energy’s request for tax abatements as residents and economic development officials continue to debate the potential benefits and consequences of the proposed energy project. The applications remain under review after first coming before the Victoria County Commissioners Court in June. “This application is still under review with no new developments at this time,” Victoria County Judge Ben Zeller said. Commissioners voted June 22 to receive Blue Energy’s applications for six Chapter 312 tax abatements covering approximately $6.5 billion in proposed taxable property. The applications are tied to the company’s proposed small modular nuclear reactor project near the Port of Victoria. The June vote did not approve the tax abatements. Instead, commissioners formally received the applications for review, with any potential approval requiring additional consideration by the county. Debate over the proposal continued during a recent Commissioners Court meeting, when Victoria resident Joseph Napolitano urged commissioners to reject the abatements. Napolitano connected the Blue Energy proposal to a planned hyperscale artificial intelligence data center in neighboring Calhoun County. He cited previous statements from Victoria Economic Development Corporation President Jonas Titus indicating the proposed data center currently appears dependent on the energy project. Napolitano argued that developments of such scale could have consequences extending beyond the immediate project sites, particularly for Bloomington and surrounding rural communities. “What is this going to do to Bloomington?” Napolitano asked. “What is it going to do when 3,000 to 5,000 workers descend on that community?” Napolitano also raised concerns about nuclear waste storage, emergency preparedness, water use, potential backup power systems and the environmental effects of developing large-scale energy and data center projects near the Texas coast. He told commissioners he does not necessarily believe the type of energy Blue Energy is proposing is inherently bad but said the potential risks and scale of the development deserve further consideration before the county provides tax incentives. Napolitano ultimately asked commissioners to reject the requested abatements. “I would hope that you continue that and that you vote against or you don’t allow these tax abatements to go through for Blue Energy,” Napolitano said. Titus spoke after Napolitano and defended the potential development, saying the project remains in its due diligence phase and many details are still being evaluated. Titus said questions surrounding water use and other components of the development continue to evolve as the companies evaluate their options. He said local feedback could help shape those decisions if the project moves forward. Titus characterized the project as an economic development opportunity for a rural area he said has historically been overlooked. “Economic development in rural Texas is extremely challenging,” Titus said. “We’re thankful for this opportunity.” He said the development could add significant taxable value to the Bloomington area and potentially provide additional resources for students in the Bloomington Independent School District. Titus also pushed back against some concerns raised during the meeting. He said concepts he has seen for the project do not include diesel generation and instead propose using natural gas as a bridge to nuclear power. He also said projections showing some workers would come from outside Victoria could translate into new residents moving to the region and contributing to the local economy. “If you’re not growing, you’re dying,” Titus said, describing the proposal as an opportunity that could benefit the regional economy. When Blue Energy’s applications were initially received in June, company officials said the proposed nuclear facility could generate an estimated $1.5 billion in tax revenue over 25 years for Victoria County, Victoria College and the Victoria Independent School District. The company also projected approximately 3,800 jobs at the peak of construction and about 360 permanent positions. Blue Energy officials said at the time that the company had not made a final decision to proceed with the project and was continuing site investigations and planning work. For now, the six requested tax abatements remain under county review, leaving unresolved the broader debate over the project’s potential economic benefits and its possible effects on surrounding communities. Jakob Gurley is a multimedia journalist with the Victoria Advocate. He can be reached at [email protected].