KEMMERER — Billionaire Bill Gates landed at Kemmerer Municipal Airport on Monday aboard an Airbus helicopter with big plans to discuss his $4 billion Natrium nuclear reactor project coming to this small Wyoming enclave.
After all the groundbreaking-with-a-shovel poses with dignitaries from the billionaire Warren Buffett-owned PacifiCorp, with Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon and TerraPower LLC, one of the richest men in the world headed over to a local fossil store to play a private game of Texas hold ’em poker with a few “regular people.”
“To have someone of his stature sit down with local people and talk with us shows that he really cares about us,” said Robert Bowen, co-owner of Wyoming Fossils along Pine Avenue in Kemmerer. “We’re honored he considered to be part of our community, and sit down with us. He’s a very down-to-earth man.”
But before he played poker Monday afternoon, Gates attended a groundbreaking ceremony under a huge marquee tent set up in the rolling plateaus of sagebrush in Wyoming’s southern Red Desert to tout a novel Natrium nuclear reactor project.
Gates said that TerraPower’s work has been a dream since 2005.
“It’s important for the future of this country that projects like this succeed,” said Gates, TerraPower founder. “This is a big step toward safe, abundant, zero-carbon energy.”
He said other reactors are on the drawing board.
“We are thrilled that Kemmerer and Diamondville have stepped up to be such great partners,” Gates said. “I believe this project will keep Kemmerer prosperous for decades to come, and that’s because we’re not just going to build one plant, but we’re going to build lots of these things.
“I can’t wait to be here when we turn the reactor on.”
In his remarks before 300 people at the ceremony, Gordon said that he was encouraged about Natrium’s contribution to the community with jobs.
“What worries me for Wyoming is when you talk about different sorts of energy supply, what are the ones that are going to keep communities alive?” Gordon said. “What are the ones that demonstrate a commitment to the community?”
He said Natrium will “make a difference.”
Coal’s Future
The reactor project is coming at a tough time for the energy-rich Power River Basin in northeastern Wyoming that has come under fire by the federal government to phase out coal-fired power plants and terminate coal mining on public lands by 2041.
There were a few protestors outside of the Highway 189 area Monday where TerraPower is to build its new reactor in the flats, as locals call it, with some holding signs supportive of Wyoming’s coal future.
The new nuclear reactor is only a few miles south of the Kemmerer Operations that mines coal for the nearby Naughton power plant, which is looking to convert the last two of three units to natural gas by 2026.
PacifiCorp has already announced plans to retire the nearly 60-year-old plant in 2036.
Most everyone in town seems to consider the nuclear reactor that TerraPower is building as a beacon of hope for the tiny community of 2,400 people. The community is facing growing pains from a lack of housing for the nearly 1,600 workers coming to town to build the plant, plus permanent housing needed for long-term projects to be located near Naughton and the TerraPower project.
Fading West, a modular home builder based in Buena Vista, Colorado, has stated that it plans to ship modular homes to the area to help close the supply and demand gap.
But Monday was all about the spotlight on Gates and the army of 1,000 engineers who have been dedicated to making the Natrium project a reality.
The Natrium reactor is to become the first advanced nuclear reactor project outside of Russia and China to move from design to construction.
Billionaire Bill Gates took his turn at shoveling up some dirt in a groundbreaking ceremony for TerraPower’s nuclear reactor project in Kemmerer, Wyoming. (Pat Maio, Cowboy State Daily) 
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon and billionaire Bill Gates shake hands at a groundbreaking ceremony for TerraPower’s nuclear reactor project in Kemmerer, Wyoming. (Pat Maio, Cowboy State Daily) 
Billionaire Bill Gates told a crowd of 300 people who attended the groundbreaking ceremony for TerraPower’s nuclear reactor project in Kemmerer, Wyoming, that TerraPower’s work has been a dream of his since 2005. (Pat Maio, Cowboy State Daily) 
Bill Gates arrives in Kemmerer, Wyoming, on Monday to break ground on the new Natrium nuclear reactor project for TerraPower. (Pat Maio, Cowboy State Daily)
Red, White And Blue
“This is a totally red, white and blue project,” TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque told Cowboy State Daily.
“People should care about what’s going on today because energy security is a big deal,” he said. “With our design, we have a totally American-made technology, and we’re going to source our fuel from free world countries like the U.S. and United Kingdom,” he said.
The last commercial reactors to get approval by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission came in 2012.
That’s when the NRC issued licenses for two nuclear reactors in Georgia, Vogtle 3 and 4. Those reactors are water-cooled and similar in design to today’s operating fleet of 94 reactors.
The Vogtle 3 reactor went into operation last year while Vogtle 4 began generating power for the electrical grid in April.
A water-cooled reactor uses purified water to cool the core of a reactor and to partially moderate the fuel’s chain reaction when the reactor runs.
For decades, there have been very few new commercial reactors come online in the United States, but the concept of building small reactors seems to be catching on, especially in Wyoming where there’s serious discussions taking place to build an infrastructure to assemble the plants in the state.
Radiant Industries Inc., a nuclear technologies business, recently stated that it selected Wyoming as one of five finalists to locate a factory to build portable micro-nuclear power plants that can power anything from mining and drilling operations to military equipment or large subdivisions of homes.
Gillette-based L&H Industrial said recently that Cheyenne and Laramie are on a short list to become the corporate headquarters and spot to build a factory to assemble components for an emerging micro-nuclear reactor business.
Long Road Ahead
TerraPower’s reactor would serve as a demonstration project but become a full-scale commercial plant upon completion.
The NRC began an intense review of the reactor’s technical design after TerraPower submitted the 3,700-page application to build the facility at the end of March.
NRC staff recently determined that the application was complete enough for a full technical review.
In the next step, the NRC will begin its technical work and give TerraPower an estimated schedule for reaching a decision on the permit.
The regulatory agency’s generic goal for completing the technical review is three years.
As to construction, the NRC's authority extends to structures, systems and components necessary for nuclear safety. The permit, if issued, requires TerraPower to build its proposed nuclear reactor to the specifications submitted to the NRC.
Other activities, such as site grading, fencing, road work or buildings and structures not related to nuclear safety can be done at TerraPower's own risk, the NRC previously stated.
The groundbreaking ceremony on Monday was the first evidence of the project getting underway.
Over the weekend, Kemmerer businesses began seeing a pickup in traffic for the event.
For Sunday and Monday, TerraPower rented out the entire 80-room Best Western Fossil Plus Fossil Country Inn & Suites, considered the swankiest in Kemmerer, near the western edge of town.
The recently opened Fossil Fuel coffee shop in town provided brew for the event.
There’s been a steady stream of contractors to town not just for the TerraPower project, but also other big construction projects underway.
The Union Pacific railroad has stored equipment in an adjacent parking lot to the Best Western while the continued expansion of ExxonMobil’s carbon capture facility at its Shute Creek Treating Facility in La Barge, Wyoming, has brought many workers to town for overnight stays at local motels.
“About half our motel is filled with Union Pacific workers and the rest by ExxonMobil,” said Seth Snyder, a manager of Fossil Butte Motel in downtown Kemmerer.
Robert Bowen, co-owner of Wyoming Fossils in downtown Kemmmer, played Texas hold ‘em with billionaire Bill Gates and other “regular people” on Monday. (Pat Maio, Cowboy State Daily) 
TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque said in remarks to Cowboy State Daily that the novel Natrium reactor design is a “totally red, white and blue project.” (Pat Maio, Cowboy State Daily) 
PacifiCorp CEO Cindy Crane delivers remarks at the TerraPower groundbreaking ceremony in Kemmerer, Wyoming. (Pat Maio, Cowboy State Daily) 
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon told a crown of 300 people who attended the groundbreaking ceremony for TerraPower’s nuclear reactor being built in Kemmerer, Wyoming that the project “will make a difference.” (Pat Maio, Cowboy State Daily) 
Billionaire Bill Gates shows off a shovel he used to dig up dirt in a groundbreaking ceremony for TerraPower’s nuclear reactor project in Kemmerer, Wyoming. (Pat Maio, Cowboy State Daily) 
TerraPower held a groundbreaking ceremony for its novel nuclear reactor in the marquee tent off Highway 189, just south of Kemmerer, Wyoming. (Pat Maio, Cowboy State Daily) 
PacifiCorp’s Naughton Power Plant is located just a few miles north of the construction site for TerraPower’s Natrium nuclear reactor in the rolling pastures of sagebrush known as the “flats” by locals. (Pat Maio, Cowboy State Daily) 
(Pat Maio, Cowboy State Daily)
Texas Hold ’Em
But the big-ticket highlight in town was the Texas hold 'em game that Gates secretly escaped away from.
He played at Wyoming Fossils, in the upper backroom of one of the biggest fossil enclaves for collectors of fossils and rocks in the state.
Gates and others were asked to pitch in a $30 buy-in fee to get a seat at the table.
“He’s a regular guy and we just wanted to play cards with him,” Bowen said.
To the north of town, Highway 30 was picking up for another reason as travelers were taking the road as an alternate after a major thoroughfare to the Yellowstone National Park from Idaho had washed out.
Matt Wright, the proprietor of the Kettle restaurant along the route, is already familiar with the circus-like crowd that follows Gates when he’s in town.
In May 2023, when Gates last visited, he stopped by his diner one evening, waiting to be seated. After a five-minute wait, he ordered a cheeseburger.
The visit turned out to be prescient for Wright, who has since gotten legal permission from TerraPower’s lawyers to use the name of the “Natrium” trademark for several alcoholic mixed beverages on his menu.
Among a half-dozen Natrium-related drinks are nuclear-sounding cocktails like “Natrium Reactor Water,“ “Critical Pile” and “Molten Sodium Slushie.”
On Monday, Wright normally closes his eatery. But a group of 30 TerraPower engineers called in to have a celebration of sorts in a side area of his restaurant.
They already placed a big order of hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans and macaroni salad.
Wright said he is personally grinding up Black Angus beef for the special event on his day off.
He also runs a small recreational vehicle park in the rear of the Kettle that is packed. He has about a half-dozen RVs from employees of Earth Work Solutions in Gillette who have rented spots.
That earth grading company began a $10 million contract to begin excavation work on the Natrium plant on May 20.
“I know they’re staying a while because some company from Evanston dropped off 125-pound propane tanks in front of them,” Wright said.
Pat Maio can be reached at pat@cowboystatedaily.com.
