Bechtel is out as the lead engineering, procurement and construction contractor on TerraPower's Natrium nuclear plant in Kemmerer after the two companies failed to agree on terms for the project's next phase.
A spokesperson from TerraPower told Cowboy State Daily via email that Bechtel will remain on site to complete the Sodium Test and Fill Facility.
“Construction in Kemmerer will maintain its current schedule,” the spokesperson said.
Backed by Bill Gates, the Natrium plant in Kemmerer is slated to become the first utility-scale advanced nuclear power plant and commercial-scale sodium-cooled reactor in the U.S. After securing approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in March, construction began in April and is expected to bring in about 1,600 workers to Kemmerer until it’s completed around 2030.
Because Bechtel has served as the project's EPC contractor since October 2020, some of its employees have been working in Kemmerer since construction began. Kemmerer mayor Robert Bowen said those employees are now getting ready to pack up and leave.
“I don’t foresee this being a major issue,” Bowen said. “We’re just going to see some new faces around town and the Bechtel employees that are around town will be moving to other jobs.”
A Bit Surprised
Bechtel workers in Kemmerer knew about the split before it became public, and Bowen said TerraPower gave him a heads up, too. Bowen said TerraPower has always been communicative with him and the City of Kemmerer about the project, and with word bound to travel from Bechtel workers into the community, TerraPower told him early so he could help "thwart" any rumors.
“They’ve assured us that everything will still be moving ahead,” Bowen said. “Of course, the hope was that Bechtel would stay all the way through. But, since the beginning, there’s always been contingency plans for every scenario.”
Bowen said he was surprised when he learned of the split but didn't find it especially unusual. Though he hasn't been made privy to the details of what terms Bechtel and TerraPower couldn't agree on, he said these situations sometimes simply come down to which similarly qualified company submits the lowest bid.
“Bechtel did nothing wrong,” Bowen said. “They’ve been a wonderful contractor. It’s just a numbers game. All the projects have been bid out in phases and, with a project this size, it’s not uncommon to change contractors as you change phases.”
In a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification on Sept. 15, Bechtel announced that because it’s parting ways with TerraPower and scaling down operations, it expects to lay off or reassign about 200 workers starting in November.
Amanda Meixel, manager of communications for Bechtel, told Cowboy State Daily that the WARN notification is a legal requirement and the company doesn’t expect any layoffs.
“Our people will move to other nuclear projects underway across the company, where demand for these skills continues to grow,” Meixel said.
Bowen, who also owns a fossil shop in Kemmerer, said he’s seen and talked to some of the Bechtel employees in his store since they were notified about the split.
“I didn’t hear rumors about anything negative, any wrongdoings or anything that was speculative,” Bowen said. “They’re just leaving this job a little earlier than what they hoped, I’m sure.”
The TerraPower spokesperson said the company is managing the transition from Bechtel to a new EPC contractor without modifying the overall construction schedule and said it will rebid the EPC contract, but did not provide a timeline for rebidding.
Emma Jane Jackson can be reached at emma@cowboystatedaily.com.
