Construction is officially underway in Kemmerer, Wyoming, on a project that many in the energy world have been waiting to see for a long time. TerraPower, a nuclear innovation company, has begun construction of its first Natrium plant, Kemmerer Unit 1.

The plant is on track to be the first utility-scale advanced nuclear plant in the United States. This comes after the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission gave the green light with a construction permit, following years of engineering work and site prep.

Utility-Scale Advanced Reactor Plant

The Natrium design uses a 345-megawatt sodium-cooled fast reactor, but it also has a built-in energy storage system using molten salt.

This storage allows the plant to jump from its usual output up to 500 megawatts when people need the extra power. To put things into perspective, that is enough to power about 400,000 homes. It’s the only advanced reactor designed to ramp up quickly while keeping its base output steady.

“This is the moment our industry has been working toward for a generation. We’re not just breaking new ground on a first-of-a-kind nuclear plant in Wyoming; we’re building the next generation of America’s energy infrastructure,” said Chris Levesque, president and CEO of TerraPower. “The Natrium plant will deliver reliable and dispatchable power to the grid and Kemmerer Unit 1 serve as a commercial blueprint to mobilize a fleet of Natrium plants across the country and around the world.”

Boosting the Local Economy

Building something this big takes a lot of manpower. TerraPower is bringing in about 1,600 workers to get the facility built. Once the plant is up and running, it should provide around 250 full-time jobs.

Wyoming has a history of producing uranium, so local leaders see this as a natural next step. Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon noted that the state has long powered the country and is now leading in new technology.

“The Natrium reactor shows that when government and private industry work together, we can build a bright future for our country powered by nuclear,” said Dr. Rian Bahran from the Department of Energy.

This project is part of a partnership with the government to show that advanced nuclear can work at scale. Additionally, TerraPower recently signed a deal with Meta to potentially build up to eight of these plants by 2035.