Feds Speed Up Review for Natrium Nuclear Power Plant in Wyoming
TerraPower was the first ever to submit a construction permit application for a “commercial advanced reactor” in March 2024.
Wyoming may see its first commercial nuclear power plant a few months sooner than anticipated, but still sometime in 2030, according to the developer, TerraPower.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission notified the Belleview, Washington-based company Tuesday that it’s trimming seven months from an ongoing environmental review and safety evaluation of the proposed advanced, liquid-sodium-cooled “Natrium” nuclear reactor plant outside Kemmerer. That means it will complete its final environmental impact statement for a construction permit by Dec. 31, the agency said.
The move follows “frequent and productive engagements” with the operator, according to the commission, and brings the review process into compliance with an executive order President Donald Trump issued in May. The order was intended to reform the “NRC’s culture” and directed the agency to speed up permitting.
“This acknowledgement by the NRC that our application can be completed more quickly than originally anticipated is a testament to the incredible work by our Natrium team and the support for advanced reactors at the federal level,” TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque said in a prepared statement.
Levesque also praised Trump for “founding” the NRC’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program during his first term. TerraPower was the first ever to submit a construction permit application for a “commercial advanced reactor” in March 2024.
“Streamlining reviews is a commonsense solution that will accelerate permitting schedules; and proves that we can bring safe, well-vetted American technologies to market faster and compete on the global stage,” Levesque said.
The expedited review is cause for concern, Wyoming Outdoor Council Energy and Climate Policy Director John Burrows told WyoFile. Residents deserve “robust and thorough” review to ensure safety, especially for an “experimental” technology such as TerraPower’s Natrium design, he said.
“Expediting the review process is not something that inspires confidence when the stakes are very high for this first-of-its-kind project,” Burrows said via email. “Similarly, the perception that the NRC is prioritizing speed over safety does not bode well for the future of nuclear technology in Wyoming — especially given the legacy of this industry and concerns that Wyomingites have raised in the past.”
The $4 billion project, backed by $2 billion from the Department of Energy, was already under a streamlined review process through the NRC’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. The plant will be operational in 2030, according to TerraPower. It will be the first utility-scale advanced nuclear power plant in the nation, the company said.
The Natrium project
After reviewing several potential sites in Wyoming, TerraPower announced in 2021 it would tap into existing infrastructure near the Naughton natural gas- and coal-fired power plant just outside the adjacent towns of Kemmerer and Diamondville in western Wyoming.
The company’s Natrium nuclear reactor is a scaled-down version of currently operating nuclear reactors. It will generate a consistent 345 megawatts of electricity — enough energy to power about 250,000 homes — and will have the ability to boost the system’s output to 500 megawatts for short periods, according to the company.
TerraPower, backed by Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates, promotes Natrium as an “advanced” reactor design because it will use liquid sodium for cooling, which requires less water and provides more energy efficiency, it says. The plant will also use a different type of radioactive fuel referred to as high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU), which is more potent than traditional nuclear fuels.
If the pilot project is successful, the company plans to deploy dozens of Natrium plants across the globe, and possibly several more in Wyoming.
Clearing permit hurdles
TerraPower commenced construction on some non-nuclear facilities associated with the project last year. The Wyoming Industrial Siting Council granted a construction permit in January, greenlighting all non-nuclear portions of the Kemmerer Power Station Unit 1 plant.
The federal commission issued a draft environmental impact statement for the nuclear side of the project in June, one month ahead of schedule, it said.
Though the federal agency is working under an expedited timeline, it warned there may be “unresolved items” related to any “substantive” public comments to address after the December deadline.
“The accelerated timeline depends on a continued commitment from [the developer] to resolve these issues and provide necessary information in a timely manner,” the agency wrote in a letter to TerraPower.
Dustin Bleizeffer covers energy and climate at WyoFile. He has worked as a coal miner, an oilfield mechanic, and for 26 years as a statewide reporter and editor primarily covering the energy industry in Wyoming. He served as MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative Journalism Fellow, John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford, a Report for America Corps member, communications director for Wyoming Outdoor Council and WyoFile editor-in-chief. He lives in Casper. You can reach him at dustin@wyofile.com.
WyoFile is an independent, member-supported, public-interest news service reporting on the people, places and policy of Wyoming. The organization incorporated in 2009 as a Wyoming 501(c)3 nonprofit, and is a member of the Institute for NonProfit News.
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