A second or third nuclear reactor in Kemmerer will depend on data centers moving close enough to use the power, TerraPower’s CEO said Thursday, as billionaire founder Bill Gates and officials from three states toured the construction site to see the progress of the country’s first utility-scale advanced nuclear plant.
“I think this project is going to attract some data center development,” TerraPower CEO Chris Levesque said during the Thursday tour. “When that happens, that's when we'll really be talking about a second or third Natrium plant.”
The visit came as TerraPower moves from groundwork toward vertical construction.
In a Friday email to Cowboy State Daily, Levesque credited the project’s progress to strong backing from regional leaders shaping the Mountain West’s energy future.
“This milestone celebrated that America is building advanced nuclear, and it’s happening right here in Kemmerer, Wyoming,” Levesque said.
Gates, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, Sen. John Barrasso and governors Brad Little of Idaho and Spencer Cox of Utah toured the Sodium Test and Fill Facility and the excavation where the reactor will eventually sit, a pit TerraPower says is about halfway to its 120-foot depth.
For Gates, the Natrium plant is a goal two decades in the making. In a speech Thursday, he said he launched TerraPower to build a new generation of smaller, cheaper and safer reactors that existing nuclear companies weren’t pursuing.
He said the boom in artificial intelligence has only added to the demand for projects like this one, with electricity needs growing faster than ever.
“The hyperscalers wish we could finish this plant a few years quicker than we could,” Gates said. “This really is the kickoff of something profound.”
‘A Lot of Excitement’
TerraPower first announced in November 2021 that it had chosen Kemmerer as the preferred site for Natrium, a 345-megawatt reactor. The sodium carries the reactor’s heat into a molten salt storage system, which means the plant could produce up to 500 megawatts if demand on the grid spikes.
Backed by Gates, it is the first commercial reactor of its kind to win a construction permit from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which approved it in March.
Amy Edmonds, Gordon's communications director, told Cowboy State Daily the Thursday visit was a general update for state and regional leaders to see the work underway firsthand.
“Everyone’s been keeping a close eye,” Edmonds said. “There’s a lot of excitement around it so this was the opportunity to get out there and see the current progress of the build.”
The $4 billion project receives up to $2 billion in federal cost-sharing and is tied to a development agreement with Meta for up to eight more reactors.
TerraPower expects to finish construction in 2030.
While initial timelines targeted an earlier start, Gordon said during the visit the project faced a two-year delay driven by shifting federal policy decisions out of Washington, D.C.
Edmonds said Gordon was referring to earlier hurdles with federal permitting and enriched uranium fuel.
With the NRC construction permit already in hand and domestic fuel supply chains taking shape, she said the governor doesn’t expect those problems to return, even with a new administration taking office before the plant comes online.
“Those have all been solved,” Edmonds said. “He does not see any new delays going forward.”
‘America’s Energy Powerhouse’
Though state and industry leaders are excited for its future, Natrium has faced some shakeups.
Last month, Bechtel stepped away as the project’s lead contractor, leaving Kemmerer’s plans to house 1,600 workers at peak construction in limbo.
Still, Barrasso told Cowboy State Daily in an email that the project is vital to meeting the country's surging energy demands while solidifying Wyoming’s position as a national leader in nuclear energy.
“Wyoming is America’s energy powerhouse,” Barrasso said. “As the country’s top uranium producer, Wyoming is the ideal place to build TerraPower’s advanced nuclear reactor. Modern nuclear infrastructure like the Natrium Reactor will provide safe, affordable, and reliable energy.”
Touring the site on Thursday offered a tangible glimpse into that trajectory, which Barrasso said will ultimately pay dividends back home.
“It was exciting to see the progress being made on the construction of the Kemmerer Unit 1 Reactor,” he said. “This groundbreaking project will create jobs and expand energy-driven economic development in Wyoming.”
‘Get More With Less’
During Thursday's walkthrough, TerraPower officials outlined a construction model designed to avoid the delays and cost overruns that have historically plagued traditional nuclear builds.
The 60-acre footprint is split evenly between a 30-acre “Energy Island” — housing conventional equipment like the turbine hull and energy storage systems — and a 30-acre “Nuclear Island.”
TerraPower Director of Construction Andy Chrusciel told tour attendees the site layout and design rely heavily on modern automation to keep the build moving quickly.
“Our mantra is to be able to get more with less,” Chrusciel said. "We're doing it through robotics, AI, modularization and the design of the plant itself. It's a very simplified design. We have far fewer quantities than legacy plants, and we know we can build this much, much, much faster.”
Part of that speed, Gates said Thursday, comes from using artificial intelligence long before ground was even broken.
“One benefit we've had is that we're using AI itself to check our plans, check our designs and to drive efficiency,” Gates said. “We have a lot of paperwork, including things like NRC permits. AI, used appropriately and carefully, is a fantastic tool to make that more efficient.”
Even with site work moving forward, Gates said the real milestone for the project still lies ahead.
“It's taken a lot of patience to get to this point,” Gates said. “The most exciting point will be when we come back and we're generating electricity.”
‘Sworn to Secrecy’
While state leaders and regional governors framed the milestone as a leap forward, the high-profile delegation came and went with little fanfare in town.
Kemmerer Mayor Robert Bowen told Cowboy State Daily he was one of just a few locals who had a heads-up.
“I knew it was happening, but I was sworn to secrecy,” Bowen said. “They kept it pretty quiet.”
Bowen said he was not on the guest list for Thursday’s event, though he was recently on site to view progress on the underground work and the nearly finished Test and Fill Facility.
“This was just a private TerraPower event,” Bowen said. “I think it was something like I got a couple weeks ago. Just a tour of the facility.”
The low profile was a far cry from a previous trip, when Gates dropped the corporate guard long enough to hang out in Bowen’s living room for a casual game of Texas hold ’em.
Bowen said this was Gates’ third visit to Kemmerer, and the billionaire hasn’t always gone unnoticed.
“My girlfriend ran into him in the coffee shop one time,” Bowen said.
When asked why Thursday’s visit was kept so quiet, Bowen said he didn’t think it had much to do with the project itself.
“Just because it’s Bill Gates,” Bowen said. “I don’t know how much he advertises his trips all over the world.”
Emma Jane Jackson can be reached at emma@cowboystatedaily.com.
