TerraPower

The plant is expected to be running by 2031. The sodium-cooled fast reactor still faces hurdles like where it will get its uranium. For now, it will be from South Africa.

The first-of-its-kind nuclear power plant slated for the Kemmerer area has received a key federal construction permit. It was issued about nine months quicker than expected.

A federal safety review has recommended the nuclear power plant project near Kemmerer worthy of a construction permit. The Union of Concerned Scientists are worried about the design and the sped-up permit process.

As TerraPower constructs a training facility for its forthcoming nuclear power plant, Kemmerer’s administrator says getting the city ready is a point of stress. Partly because of budget cuts and impending coal mine job losses.

Public commenters at a Casper meeting had a lot of different opinions. Many wanted more answers about the licensing process and the logistics of transporting the spent fuel back to Wyoming.

The forthcoming nuclear power plant project will get its construction permit seven months faster than expected. Supporters say it’s common sense regulatory streamlining. Others are sounding the alarm.

One would allow nuclear reactor manufacturers to temporarily store used nuclear fuel in Wyoming, and the other would provide legal protections for private security guards at nuclear facilities.

Wyoming is eyeing the nuclear industry to keep young adults from leaving. The state is giving almost $2 million to Western Wyoming Community College to develop a nuclear associate degree – the first of its kind in the state.

Almost three years ago, an unlikely relationship formed between the declining coal town of Kemmerer and one of the richest people in the world: Bill Gates. That’s because his nuclear company, TerraPower, announced it’d chosen Kemmerer for a “first of its kind” power plant. It promised to pump life back into the economy. But unless you’re deeply embedded in the energy world, it mostly just felt like a lot of talk to residents – until this month, when the project broke ground.

Uranium mining is picking up in the United States – this comes after years of very little production – and it could help a first of its kind nuclear power plant project in southwest Wyoming.