TerraPower got the green light from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission to start building its first-of-its-kind sodium-cooled nuclear power plant near Kemmerer, Wyoming.
The NRC announced the approval of the project’s construction permit Wednesday, which will allow the Bill Gates-backed company to start work on building the actual reactor at its site about four miles outside Kemmerer.
It’s the first go-ahead for nuclear reactor construction in 10 years, NRC Chairman Ho Nieh said in a statement announcing the approval.
“This is a historic step forward for advanced nuclear energy in the United States and reflects our commitment to delivering timely, predictable decisions grounded in a rigorous and independent safety review,” he said.
Along with being the first commercial reactor to get approved in about a decade, it’s the first for a non-light-water reactor in more than 40 years, the agency reports. TerraPower will use liquid sodium to cool its reactor instead of water.
The approval also makes good on a promise by the Trump administration to fast-track the TerraPower project, which comes months ahead of the administration’s target of 18 months.
The company says the accelerated approval by the NRC shows the importance of and focus on America advancing nuclear power.
“We are beyond proud to receive a positive vote from the Nuclear Regulatory Commissioners to grant us our construction permit for Kemmerer Unit One,” TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque said in a statement on the approval.
“Today is a historic day for the United States’ nuclear industry,” he said. “We plan to start construction on the Natrium plant in the coming weeks and look forward to bringing the first Natrium reactor and energy storage system to market in the great state of Wyoming.”
When finished, the Natrium reactor is expected to produce a baseload output of 345 megawatts of electricity with an ability to ramp up to 500 megawatts during peak hours, the company reports.
Officials Cheer Decision
The NRC’s announcement was met with quick cheers from Wyoming’s Republican congressional delegation, with U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis calling Wednesday “a landmark day for Wyoming.”
“The NRC’s approval of TerraPower’s construction permit for the Kemmerer Power Station is a major step forward in President Trump’s energy independence agenda,” Lummis said in a statement. “Wyoming has long powered this nation, and I’m proud that we are leading the next generation of nuclear energy.”
U.S. Sen. John Barrasso said in a statement that the construction permit is the next step in keeping Wyoming in the national energy spotlight with TerraPower’s “groundbreaking nuclear reactor facility in Kemmerer.”
“Wyoming is the energy capital of America,” he continued. “We are also the No. 1 producer of uranium in the country. That’s why Wyoming is the right place to build modern nuclear energy infrastructure that provides safe, affordable, and reliable energy.”
TerraPower first submitted its construction permit application in March 2024 during the Biden administration, which at the time set a 27-month review schedule for the project.
After President Donald Trump took office, he announced it would be fast-tracked for approval, which happened in 18 months.
Wednesday’s announcement is good news for Wyoming, Gov. Mark Gordon said.
“My congratulations to TerraPower for achieving this amazing next step,” he said in a statement to Cowboy State Daily. “Wyoming is proud of the role we are playing in moving power generation forward.
“Finally breaking ground here in Wyoming on the TerraPower reactor brings us closer to the ability to use our fuel and generate the electricity America is demanding safely, cleanly, and dependably.”
What Are They Building?
In the meantime, TerraPower has been busy with other construction at its site near the PacifiCorp-owned Naughton power plant near Kemmerer.
It’s building a huge 167-foot-tall Test and Fill Facility, which will become the company’s training center.
During a tour of the site earlier this year, Cowboy State Daily was given an up-close look at what’s being built.
Overall, the Natrium plant will be much smaller than what’s been typical for nuclear plants in the past.
The last two reactors built in America were the massive Vogtle Units 3 and 4 in Georgia, which required 23,000 tons of structural steel to build — enough to make 25,000 medium-sized cars — and enough concrete to build a 3,375-mile sidewalk from Miami to Seattle.
The cost to build Vogtle Units 3 and 4 was $35 billion.
TerraPower officials told Cowboy State Daily they did not have any figures on how much concrete and steel it will take to build the TerraPower nuclear plant.
Gates has told outlets like the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times that he hired an engineering team of hundreds to reimagine safer, less-expensive nuclear power back in the early 2000s.
It’s not just size that will be different when it comes to TerraPower’s nuclear plant. It’s also going to use a completely different design.
The traditional approach to nuclear power has been to pump water into a reactor core heated by atomic fission, then use the steam to create electricity.
Systems that use water are also highly pressurized, which requires heavy piping and thick containment, adding to the high cost of these facilities.
TerraPower gets away from high pressure systems by using molten sodium instead of water as a coolant, decreasing the need for all that thick shielding.
Liquid sodium can also absorb a lot more heat than water without reaching dangerous temperatures. That widens the safety margin.
Air vents, rather than water pumps, will cool the facility in an emergency instead of water. This approach won’t require emergency electricity or pumps to work.
TerraPower has estimated its system will produce electricity at half the cost of a traditional nuclear plant, all while boosting safety, in a system that’s designed to easily adjust power output so that it can mesh with fluctuating power sources like wind and solar.
City Fast-Tracked, Too
In Kemmerer, the news of the construction permit approval is welcome, but not unexpected, Mayor Robert Bowen told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday.
“No, I’m not surprised with the president’s announcement about fast-tracking this,” he said. “Then, with this winter being so mild, they’ve been able to get a lot of work done out there.
“I’m just glad to hear it’s moving forward as quickly as it is.”
That regulatory fast-track also puts the tiny southwest Wyoming town of about 2,500 on an accelerated pace to accommodate a landslide of development and policy updates that go with the growth the plant is bringing to Kemmerer, Bowen said.
“Other than the international and national spotlight it’s put on us, the first impact has been a lot of people investing in our community here,” he said. “A lot of facilities are getting fixed up, a lot of economic diversity has already started.
“We’re going to see a lot of population increases, so we’re also seeing a lot more developers.”
It’s created a flurry of work for city officials and the Kemmerer City Council, he said.
“It’s a lot more than we’ve seen in decades, probably, if ever,” Bowen said. “It’s presenting new challenges for our city staff. We’re finding things in our ordinances that need to be updated and modernized.”
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
