TerraPower, the Bill Gates-backed developer of the Kemmerer Power Station Unit 1 nuclear plant, has marked a major regulatory victory by becoming the first advanced commercial nuclear facility to be notified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that its project poses “no adverse impact to the environment.”
The NRC acts independently of the United States government and is tasked with safeguarding public health as it relates to nuclear energy.
As part of this oversight, the agency conducts environmental impact statements, which identify “potential environmental issues that are expected to be common, or generic, to the construction, operation, and decommissioning of many new nuclear reactors,” according to the agency.
Among these common issues are the production of spent reactor fuel, uranium byproducts and other forms of hazardous radioactive waste. After conducting its review of TerraPower, the NRC said last week it found no cause for concern.
Cheering the announcement is TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque.
“TerraPower has been committed to bringing the next generation of nuclear power to fruition, and this announcement from the NRC is a testament to our team’s dedication and rigor in meeting all federal licensing requirements,” he told Cowboy State Daily via email Wednesday. “The Natrium plant in Wyoming, Kemmerer Unit 1, is now the first advanced reactor technology to successfully complete an environmental impact statement for the NRC, bringing us another step closer to delivering America’s next nuclear power plant.”
When Cowboy State Daily reached out to the NRC for comment Wednesday, an automated email was returned saying its public relations arm is closed due to the government shutdown.
Bill Gates arrives in Kemmerer, Wyoming, on Monday, June 10, 2024, to break ground on the new Natrium nuclear reactor project for TerraPower. (CSD File)
The Documents
The NRC’s environmental impact statement says it consulted with federal, state, local, and tribal agencies in making its determination. This consultation revealed no major concerns regarding land use, air quality, or other environmental factors.
“After weighing the environmental, economic, technical, and other benefits against environmental and other costs, and considering reasonable alternatives, the NRC staff recommends, unless safety issues mandate otherwise, that the NRC issue the requested [construction permit] to [TerraPower],” it reads.
That document also examined potential impacts on global climate change and tourism. Authors of the report acknowledged the region is “largely dependent on energy revenue” from oil, gas, coal, and wind.
The NRC in its review also cleared the project of any potential “unavoidable environmental impacts,” which it defines as “adverse environmental impacts that cannot be avoided even with the implementation of mitigation measures.”
“As noted in Chapter 3, the review team concluded that the impacts on the evaluated resource areas from the construction of a Natrium reactor at the Kemmerer Unit 1 site would be SMALL, with the exception of the historic and cultural resources, terrestrial ecological resources, and socioeconomic areas, which would be larger than SMALL,” the report adds. “A SMALL determination means that the environmental effects would not be detectable or would be so minor that they would neither destabilize nor noticeably alter any important attribute of the resource.”
Though they are not needed, NRC’s report identifies “the Naughton 12 site and the Jim Bridger 22 site” as two contingency locations elsewhere in Wyoming where the nuclear development could be moved.
Bill Gates And Elon Musk
Despite the NRC’s environmental findings, the project continues to draw criticism from some — many out-of-state — who take issue with the involvement of tech billionaire Bill Gates.
Kemmerer Mayor Robert Bowen said he and his city support the nuclear project and will not bend to this pressure.
“There are a few naysayers, but that’s going to be everywhere,” he said. “I get more phone calls, emails and text messages from people in Florida speaking against this project than I do in my own backyard.”
Bowen said he had the opportunity to meet Gates over a poker game in 2024 when he was in Kemmerer for Natrium’s groundbreaking, and said he found him to be agreeable and highly intelligent.
“It’s not the project that they’re negative about, it’s the people,” Bowen said. “I've met Bill Gates … and I really liked the guy. He was a very likable man, so I got no personal issues with him."
The detractors, he suggested, would sing a different tune if another billionaire backer, such as Elon Musk, were to become involved.
Bowen added that should Musk take an interest in Kemmerer, the nuclear plant could supply the necessary power to fuel several Tesla charging stations.
Kemmerer City Manager Brian Muir agreed, adding that the city would greatly appreciate an opportunity to collaborate with Musk.
“A lot of people really like Elon Musk and how he thinks,” Muir said. “I like what he's done for our country myself, too. I hope Elon Musk also invests in Kemmerer.”
Muir suggested Musk could use Kemmerer as a base of operation for his Starlink program, which uses satellites to deliver Wi-Fi connection to remote places.
“There's a potential need here for that, for the cell phone connection,” he said. “Obviously, if you're out in the boonies, he's one of the best options available.”
The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission has found that Kemmerer Natrium project poses “no adverse impact to the environment.” It is the first advanced commercial facility to receive such a distinction. (TerraPower via YouTube) 
The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission has found that Kemmerer Natrium project poses “no adverse impact to the environment.” It is the first advanced commercial facility to receive such a distinction. (TerraPower via YouTube) 
The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission has found that Kemmerer Natrium project poses “no adverse impact to the environment.” It is the first advanced commercial facility to receive such a distinction. (TerraPower via YouTube) 
The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission has found that Kemmerer Natrium project poses “no adverse impact to the environment.” It is the first advanced commercial facility to receive such a distinction. (TerraPower via YouTube)
Fast Track
The Kemmerer project has notably benefited from a fast-tracked federal review process. While it has not completed its final safety evaluation, the NRC wrote in a July statement that process is expected to conclude before the end of 2025.
“Frequent and productive engagements with TerraPower, along with other efficiency gains, mean the NRC could complete reviews by Dec. 31, 2025, 6 months ahead of the current schedule,” it wrote. “The accelerated timeline depends on a continued commitment from TerraPower to resolve the remaining issues in a timely manner.”
NRC spokesperson Scott Burnell told Cowboy State Daily in July this expedited timeline would not come at the expense of safety.
"The agency's focus remains making sure that it would be appropriate to issue a construction permit for this project based on the information available,” Burnell said. “And the detailed analysis that we do to ensure we fully understand any potential environmental impacts, and that we understand how the plants would be constructed in such a way that continues to protect public health and safety.”
Gov. Mark Gordon expressed frustration earlier this month with regulatory red tape that continues to stall other energy developments throughout the state and called on government oversight agencies to facilitate innovation over regulation.
TerraPower has already begun construction portions of its facility, but still requires full NRC approval to complete the project.
"We're not going into the future by regulating ourselves, we're going to innovate," Gordon said at the Big Sky Bright Future Economic Summit, put on by the Montana Chamber of Commerce.
President Donald Trump in May signed an executive order to support quicker deployment of advanced nuclear energy in the United States. This accelerated timeline has pushed Kemmerer work crews to race to meet surging housing demand from new workers.
Contact Jackson Walker at jackson@cowboystatedaily.com
Jackson Walker can be reached at walker@cowboystatedaily.com.
