Nebraska Public Power District received the largest single DOE Gen III+ SMR grant of $27,864,860 on May 14, 2026 to develop an NRC Early Site Permit for a future light-water SMR deployment in Nebraska. NPPD is Nebraska's publicly owned electric utility serving approximately 86,000 customers directly and wholesale power to 600,000 Nebraskans. The ESP grant enables site assessment work — environmental, geological, and safety evaluations — needed before reactor selection and construction permit applications. Nebraska has growing electricity demand from agricultural processing, data centres, and manufacturing. Nebraska's central US location, flat terrain, and water resources from the Missouri River make it geologically well-suited for nuclear siting; NPPD has operated the Cooper Nuclear Station for decades. Note: sources differ on NPPD's customer base, variously described as approximately 1.6 million Nebraskans served versus approximately 86,000 direct customers plus wholesale power to 600,000 Nebraskans — not reconciled here.