SAN ANTONIO: It is 5.30am in southern Texas, and Jesus “Jesse” Garza Jr is preparing for his shift at the Alta Mesa Uranium Project.His grandmother Mary Lou Rodriguez once worked at the same mining site, and their family used to wake up to the sound of heavy machinery in the uranium mines around their town.During the Cold War, when Texas helped to fuel the United States’ nuclear programme and civilian power sector, the state was producing enough uranium to power approximately eight million homes a year.But falling demand and cheaper imports made local operations unviable by the late 1990s. The Fukushima accident in 2011 also renewed nuclear safety concerns, weakening the market further.
But that retreat is reversing. Garza joined Alta Mesa as a foreman in 2024 after his grandmother told him about its resumption of production. Last year, it became the second-largest uranium producer in the US.
Jesus “Jesse” Garza Jr (left) with The Nuclear Option host Brendon Fernandez at the Alta Mesa Uranium Project site in Texas.
“I want to continue the (family) legacy and leave my mark,” he said. “Nuclear power is clean power. It’s the future, and I want to be part of it.”The nuclear revival extends beyond Texas. More than 40 countries plan to build new reactors or are considering it as governments seek reliable, low-carbon electricity while industries such as artificial intelligence and crypto mining intensify the demand for energy.Part of nuclear power’s appeal lies in uranium’s energy density. A uranium fuel pellet about the size of a fingertip supplies as much energy as a tonne of coal or 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas.But the global interest in nuclear capacity follows a long period of subdued uranium production. Demand is expected to double by 2040 and could begin outstripping supply after 2030, with warnings of a fuel shortfall over the next two decades.
