The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued its first construction permit for a commercial nuclear reactor in eight years Wednesday, granting approval to plans by a Bill Gates-backed company to build a sodium-cooled reactor in western Wyoming.
TerraPower filed for the permit in 2024, with construction now set to begin within weeks. Completion of the up to $4 billion plant is targeted for 2030, according to TerraPower.
“We have spent thousands of manpower hours working to achieve this momentous accomplishment,” TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque said in a statement.
Microsoft co-founder Gates, who is eyeing nuclear as a power source for the electricity-hungry data centers behind artificial intelligence, is a founder of and primary investor in TerraPower.
The TerraPower plant is set to be built on the site of a coal-fired power plant that is being converted to burn natural gas near Kemmerer, a town of about 2,500 people 130 miles (210 kilometers) northeast of Salt Lake City. PacifiCorp’s Naughton plant will continue operating in the meantime.
The 345-megawatt reactor could generate up to 500 megawatts at its peak, enough for up to 400,000 homes.