TerraPower Announces Site for Wyoming Nuclear Plant

TerraPower announced today that Kemmerer, Wyoming is the preferred site for the Natrium™ reactor demonstration project, which is a TerraPower and GE-Hitachi technology, and is one of two competitively-selected advanced reactor demonstration projects (ARDP) supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

The company selected the Kemmerer location, near the Naughton Power Plant, following an extensive evaluation process and meetings with community members and leaders.

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The demonstration project team evaluated a variety of factors while they were selecting the site of the Naughton Power Plant, where the remaining two coal units are scheduled to retire in 2025. These factors included community support, the physical characteristics of the site, the ability of the site to obtain a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), access to existing infrastructure, and the needs of the grid.

The project's preferred siting is subject to the finalization of definitive agreements on the site and applicable permitting, licensing, and support, with TerraPower anticipating submitting the plant’s construction permit application to the NRC in mid-2023.

The plant is expected to be operational in the next seven years, which aligns with the ARDP schedule mandated by Congress.

According to project estimates, approximately 2,000 workers will be needed for construction at the project’s peak, with approximately 250 people needed to support day-to-day activities once the site is operational.

Through the recently signed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, DOE worked with Congress to allocate nearly $2.5 billion in new funding for ARDP. This allocation, along with previous funding, will cover DOE’s commitment to TerraPower for the first five years of a seven-year.