Nice job, Kate. Ever since this project was announced I’ve wondered how they were going to find room for everyone. Thanks for providing some of the answers. — Kerry
Talks about how to accommodate roughly 1,600 temporary and 250 permanent workers at the TerraPower Nuclear power plant that’s on a fast-track for construction in Kemmerer are heating up.
At least three permanent housing developments are kicking off in Lincoln County’s county seat, along with talks about temporary workforce housing.
The city of about 2,400 people is bracing for explosive growth with the first-of-its-kind sodium-cooled nuclear power plant a month into construction.
Multiple companies are eyeing various properties to build a temporary workforce hub that could house workers when the plant comes online sometime around 2030.
“It’s more than just a man camp,” Kemmerer mayor Robert Bowen told Cowboy State Daily about the vision for the development. “This is living quarters. It’s like a little city within a city.”
Requests For Proposals
Bechtel, an engineering, construction and project management company partnering with TerraPower, put out a request for proposal to build workforce housing, said Bowen.
Bechtel did not respond to Cowboy State Daily’s request for comment.
What the man camp looks like, what it will cost to build and where it is will depend on who is awarded the contract, Bowen said.
He estimated the project is being considered by between five and seven bidders.
“All the companies have identified different properties they would like to use,” he said.
Some of the properties are in Lincoln County, some are on private property, and others are owned by the city, the mayor said.
“There are too many variables and moving parts to say what’s going happen,” Bowen said “Each bidder is going to have their own proposal.
"They’re not all going to look the same.”
One area being considered for the development is undeveloped city-owned property between the local justice center and the Antelope Ridge subdivision.
Bowen said one developer has shown interest in that land.
Not all details of the request for proposals were shared with the city. However, the city council has formally heard about possible details being proposed as part of the project.
Amenities
Bowen stressed that none of the items mentioned are guaranteed to be part of the buildout, but developers are considering adding amenities such as a dining facility that would provide three meals a day to workers, a recreational facility and a cantina.
A cantina, or bar, on a temporary workforce housing site drew mixed reactions from both members of the Lincoln County Planning and Zoning and the Kemmerer City Council.
Some people believe an on-site drinking establishment would lower the risk of drinking and driving because workers would remain at the housing site.
Others see it as a threat to local bars because a cantina would compete with already-established business.
The man camp would be an “on-demand buildout,” Bowen said, with the developer creating a base number of housing units and scaling from there according to need.
“Some could be modular. Some could be stick-built. It depends on the bidder,” he said.
The hub would accommodate temporary workers for about a year. Bowen said it could later be used for other area projects — a data center, for example, or if TerraPower were to build a second unit.
Bowen said he's excited by the workforce hub’s possibilities.
“The thing I love about the workforce hub is it keeps us from getting stuck in the boom-bust cycle,” he said. “We won’t have to worry about overpriced houses that people are upside-down in when a bust comes.”
More Permanent Housing Coming
The Canyon Road Development in town is a 291-acre mixed-use project that will include apartments, up to 1,000 units, along with possible retail and other amenities.
The Gateway Development is underway on 116 acres and plans call for 270 single-family homes.
A third development on private land will see higher-end, custom-built homes. Bowen said that development could draw interest from permanent TerraPower workers such as construction foremen and supervisors.
Jesica Fox Lozier, president of the Fossil Basin Chamber of Commerce and a local Realtor, told Cowboy State Daily she believes there might come a time when Kemmerer will need more workforce housing, adding that permanent housing growth is exciting.
But she questions how taxpayer money is being used to fund private developers of the housing sites.
“It is definitely important that people stay within the community if at all possible and utilize the services available here,” she said.
Last year, the Wyoming Business Council awarded more than $4 million in business-ready community (BRC) grant money to Lincoln County for crucial infrastructure updates.
The State Land Investment Board (SLIB) unanimously approved the funds, according to a statement from the Business Council.
Nation’s First Advanced Nuclear Power Plant
TerraPower officially began building the first-of-its-kind nuclear power plant last month.
It will be the nation’s first utility-scale advanced nuclear power plant and will house the country’s first commercial-scale sodium-cooled reactor.
Cowboy State Daily previously reported that the advanced nuclear power plant will have more cops than the local Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
TerraPower has estimated its system will produce electricity at half the cost of a traditional nuclear plant, while boosting safety, in a system that’s been designed with interruptible power sources like wind and solar in mind.
Kate Meadows can be reached at kate@cowboystatedaily.com.
