Advanced nuclear reactors and data centers support rural economic development

Across Arizona, rural communities want to thrive because growth creates jobs and builds the property tax base that funds essential services like schools and first responders. For other communities, the need to grow is existential. They face the loss of major employers—often coal-fired power plants—that sustain local jobs and revenue. For them, attracting new businesses isn’t just about growth; it’s about survival—stabilizing population, restoring revenues, and preventing further decline.

When major anchor employers disappear, the consequences for rural communities can be severe. The closure of the Navajo Generating Station near Page cost the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe millions, while the shutdown of Cholla’s Units 1 and 2 near Joseph City stripped local governments of critical financial support.

House Majority Leader Michael Carbone (R-Buckeye)

Beyond tax revenue, traditional anchor employers provide hundreds of high-paying jobs, voluntary community investments, and the reliable power needed to attract secondary businesses. SRP has donated more than $200,000 to St. Johns and Round Valley public schools, while SRP and TEP together provided $600,000 in broadband grant matching funds for Apache County. Without proactive efforts to replace these facilities, some rural communities face long-term economic decline.

Some hope renewables like wind and solar could replace the lost economic base and jobs, but they have not demonstrated the same economic impact. Renewables generate far less local tax revenue than traditional anchors: the proposed Lava Run Wind Project in Apache County would contribute about $1.2 million annually in property taxes—a fraction of Springerville’s $14.8 million. This gap is due in part to substantial property tax subsidies that reduce renewable projects’ local contributions.

On jobs, it’s a similar story. Utility-scale wind and solar projects typically employ about 15 full-time workers after construction, compared with 300 to 400 at conventional plants like Coronado or Springerville. Simply put, renewables alone cannot replace the economic role traditional anchor employers have played in rural Arizona or provide the reliable power needed to attract new industry.

New businesses require reliable power, broadband, and infrastructure to locate in rural areas—amenities communities struggle to provide when funding declines and anchor employers shut down. Fortunately, while coal may be retiring, advanced energy systems, like nuclear, paired with emerging high-tech industries offer a new path forward.

A new type of nuclear reactor, called small modular reactors (SMRs), is being developed to bring the job and property tax benefits of nuclear energy to rural communities while providing the reliable power that secondary businesses need to locate there.

TerraPower’s Natrium reactor in Wyoming is projected to raise local property tax revenues by 30 percent, while the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Clinch River projects are expected to bring billions in local investment while creating high-quality jobs. According to the Department of Energy, a typical 300-MW SMR requires about 100 to 250 permanent staff—roughly ten times more than a wind or solar facility of similar size. These projects also provide reliable, scalable power needed to attract the next generation of high-value businesses.

According to CBRE, access to power is now the top factor for new tech industry growth. Companies like Google, Amazon, and Meta are actively pursuing advanced nuclear to support future AI-driven operations, demonstrating how this combination can serve as a modern anchor—delivering stable energy and economic revitalization for rural communities, including substantial property tax revenue and the potential for expanded broadband infrastructure.

Each mid-size data center (20–50 MW) brings about $1.5–$6 million in local real and personal property taxes, while a single large hyperscale data center (60–100 MW) can contribute as much as $10 million annually. A large “mega campus” (150–250 MW+) would generate between $15 million and $40 million or more per year. In other words, a typical 300-MW SMR paired with 300 MW of data centers could bring hundreds of jobs and tens of millions of dollars in new local property tax base to a county.

Because data centers require robust fiber infrastructure, they often help extend broadband backbones into rural areas, supporting new middle-mile and last-mile connections for residents and businesses. Google’s Council Bluffs data center, for example, coincided with the launch of Google Fiber for nearby households. Meta’s West Virginia expansion included 275 miles of new middle-mile fiber and high-speed internet access for more than 13,000 rural residents. Amazon’s AI campus in North Carolina also included broadband and fiber-optic upgrades.

With these combined benefits, rural towns like Page, Joseph City, and Springerville could position themselves as the next hubs for economic development by pairing nuclear-anchored power with data centers to strengthen local economies and expand broadband access. But realizing this opportunity will require rural communities to support the next generation of advanced nuclear technology and embrace the siting of emerging cloud infrastructure. Some cities, such as Buckeye, actively support them, announcing the Tract Buckeye Technology Park to host a 1.8-gigawatt data center campus—one of the largest in the country.

For rural Arizona, SMRs offer the best of both worlds: a chance to rebuild rural tax bases, attract new businesses, and drive economic growth while providing the clean, reliable power communities need. By embracing advanced nuclear paired with data centers, Arizona can strengthen rural economies and secure their economic future.

Michael Carbone is a Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives representing Legislative District 25 and serves as House Majority Leader. Follow him on X at @MichaelCarbone.

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