It’s Not Your Father’s Nuclear Power Plant. And It’s Coming To Wyoming.
A company called TerraPower is set to begin construction on a next generation nuclear power plant in Kemmerer this June. At its peak operation capacity, the plant could power around 400,000 homes.
The Financial Times reports this new type of nuclear power plant has new safety features. TerraPower’s Natrium nuclear reactor will be cooled with liquid sodium instead of water and it features a molten salt-based energy storage system. The Financial Times says it not only makes the system safer, it also makes it cheaper and more efficient and it can be built for around half the cost of a water-cooled reactor.
TerraPower is owned by Bill Gates, who is an entrepreneur and best known for starting the company Microsoft with his childhood friend Paul Allen. The company filed a construction permit with the US Nuclear Regulator Commission last week and with it’s approval it would become the first commercial nuclear reactor to be built in the United States in more than 12 years. TerraPower is aiming to complete construction in 2030 and it’s expected to generate 1,600 construction jobs and 250 full-time employees.
The plant is located near a retiring coal facility in Kemmerer, which is home to 2,415 people and 1,229 housing units, according to census data.
It’s not clear what prices TerraPower will charge for power generated by the plant.
