TerraPower has started construction on its Natrium demonstration plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming, a project the company and federal regulators describe as the first utility scale advanced nuclear power plant in the United States. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the construction permit for the reactor, its first approval of a new commercial reactor design in nearly a decade and the first approval of a non light water design in more than 40 years.
The Natrium reactor is a 345 megawatt sodium cooled fast reactor developed jointly by TerraPower and GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy. A molten salt based energy storage system lets the plant temporarily boost output to 500 megawatts, allowing it to follow shifts in daily electricity demand and work alongside variable renewable generation on the grid. Bechtel is serving as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor.
TerraPower submitted its construction permit application in March 2024, and the NRC completed its review in 18 months after a streamlined mandatory hearing process, well ahead of the initial 27 month schedule. The Kemmerer site sits next to a retiring coal plant, and the project is being developed through the Department of Energy's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. Completion is targeted for 2030.
Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon said the milestone positions the state, the nation's leading uranium producer, at the center of next generation nuclear technology. TerraPower has also secured backing from Meta for development of additional Natrium units at future sites.
Source: World Nuclear News - https://world-nuclear-news.org/articles/terrapower-starts-construction-of-first-us-utility-scale-advanced-nuclear-plant