Construction Commences on America’s New Nuclear Power Facility

By IndraStra Global News Team

Bill Gates and his energy company, TerraPower, are commencing construction on a next-generation nuclear power plant in Wyoming, which Gates believes will transform power generation. On Monday (June 10), Gates visited the small community of Kemmerer to initiate the project. TerraPower, chaired by Gates, applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in March for a permit to build an advanced nuclear reactor that uses sodium for cooling instead of water. If approved, the reactor will function as a commercial nuclear power plant.
The site is located near PacifiCorp’s Naughton Power Plant, which plans to cease coal burning by 2026 and natural gas a decade later. Nuclear reactors, which do not emit greenhouse gases, are seen as a carbon-free power source. PacifiCorp intends to source carbon-free power from the reactor and is considering the extent of nuclear energy in its long-term planning.
The work that began on Monday aims to prepare the site for TerraPower to rapidly construct the reactor if its permit is approved. Russia currently leads in developing sodium-cooled reactors. During the groundbreaking ceremony, Gates remarked that they were "standing on what will soon be the bedrock of America’s energy future." He emphasized the significance of this project, calling it a major step toward safe, abundant, zero-carbon energy and crucial for the country's future.
Advanced reactors, which use coolants other than water and operate at lower pressures and higher temperatures, have existed for decades. However, the U.S. has continued to build large, conventional water-cooled reactors for commercial power. According to the NRC, the Wyoming project represents the first attempt in about forty years to establish an advanced reactor as a commercial power plant in the United States.

Image Attribute: Plant layout from a 2022 presentation. / Source: TerraPower

Chris Levesque, the president and CEO of TerraPower, stated that it is now appropriate to transition to advanced nuclear technology that incorporates cutting-edge computer modeling and physics. This approach aims to create a plant design that is simpler, more cost-effective, even safer, and more efficient. TerraPower’s Natrium reactor demonstration project features a sodium-cooled fast reactor design coupled with a molten salt energy storage system.
"The industry has traditionally prioritized reliability over innovation," said Levesque in an interview. "However, given the anticipated electricity demands in the coming decades and the need to address cost issues in today's nuclear energy sector, TerraPower and its founders believe it's time to introduce new technologies."
Recently, a Georgia utility completed the construction of the first two newly built American reactors in a generation, with costs nearing $35 billion. This figure includes substantial cost overruns amounting to $11 billion for expanding Plant Vogtle from two traditional large reactors to four.
In contrast, the TerraPower project is projected to cost up to $4 billion, with half of the funding coming from the U.S. Department of Energy. Levesque noted that this estimate incorporates initial expenses for designing and licensing the reactor, indicating that future projects could be considerably more economical.
Most advanced nuclear reactors being developed in the U.S. utilize a type of fuel called high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), which contains a higher percentage of uranium-235 than conventional reactors. TerraPower postponed its Wyoming project launch to 2030 by two years due to reliance on Russia as the sole commercial supplier of this fuel, but it is collaborating with other companies to establish alternative sources. The U.S. Department of Energy is also engaged in efforts to produce HALEU domestically.

Image Attribute: The nuclear island layout. / Source: TerraPower
In a Science article published Thursday, Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, co-authored a piece expressing concerns that HALEU could potentially be used for nuclear weapons. He acknowledged the current low risk due to limited global availability, but cautioned that this could change as advanced reactor projects, requiring larger quantities of HALEU, progress. Lyman aims to raise awareness of this risk to encourage stronger international security measures around the fuel.
According to NRC spokesperson Scott Burnell, the agency is confident that its current regulations will effectively ensure both the security and public safety of any reactors constructed and their fuel.
Bill Gates co-founded TerraPower in 2008 with the aim of advancing advanced nuclear energy in the private sector to provide clean, abundant energy without carbon emissions. TerraPower's 345-megawatt reactor has the capacity to generate up to 500 megawatts at peak performance, sufficient to power approximately 400,000 homes. Initially, TerraPower plans to use its first few reactors for electricity generation. Looking ahead, the company envisions deploying future reactors near industrial facilities to provide high-temperature heat as well.
John Kotek, Senior Vice President for Policy at the Nuclear Energy Institute, highlighted that nearly all industries currently rely on fossil fuels for high-temperature processes. He emphasized that advanced reactors could potentially provide heat for producing hydrogen, petrochemicals, ammonia, and fertilizer.
Kotek noted the significance of Bill Gates, known for his technological innovations and advocacy for climate action, placing his support behind nuclear power to help combat the climate crisis. According to Kotek, Gates' endorsement has increased awareness of nuclear power's current and potential future roles in reducing carbon emissions.
"I believe this has prompted a broader recognition of the role nuclear power already plays and can continue to play in mitigating carbon emissions," Kotek stated. He also mentioned a growing momentum in the United States for new nuclear initiatives and the exploration of a wider range of nuclear energy technologies than has been pursued in recent decades.

IndraStra Global is now available on
Apple News, Google News, Feedly, Flipboard, and  WhatsApp Channel

COPYRIGHT: This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

REPUBLISH: Republish our articles online or in print for free if you follow these guidelines. https://www.indrastra.com/p/republish-us.html