Kemmerer, Wyo. — Construction has begun on a new advanced nuclear reactor in Kemmerer that would be only the fourth U.S. reactor built this century and among the first of a new generation of designs. The project is led by Terra Power, the Bill Gates–backed company headquartered in Washington state, which says the facility will supply low‑emission electricity to energy‑exporting states such as Wyoming.
Terra Power’s design differs from many legacy reactors: it uses liquid sodium for cooling, places many systems underground, and is intended to be faster to build and inherently safer, the company says. CEO Chris Levesque, who moved to Terra Power after a career in conventional nuclear, says those technical choices along with growing demand for reliable, carbon‑free power have changed local attitudes. Communities that once resisted nuclear are now competing to host projects.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted final approval to start construction in March, concluding about five years of studies, safety reviews and a site competition. Terra Power projects that, if the unit is online by 2031, it could produce enough electricity for a utility serving roughly half a million homes. Potential customers include regional utilities and large technology companies; Terra Power has already signed deals to build reactors for Meta to power data centers.
Industry momentum is reinforced by forecasts that artificial intelligence and other data‑intensive sectors will sharply increase electricity demand. Federal support has been a key catalyst: a Department of Energy pilot program that helped advance Terra Power’s first project began under the Trump administration and received backing through the Biden administration’s Infrastructure Law, which directed roughly $2 billion toward construction. States across the Rocky Mountain West have shown interest in federal nuclear hub planning, with applications from Utah and Idaho among those submitted.
Local and state leaders in Wyoming have welcomed the Kemmerer project. Officials praised the start of full‑scale construction, and Kemmerer’s city administrator, Brian Muir, says the plant is viewed as an economic lifeline after the decline of coal. Hundreds of skilled jobs are expected, some coal plant infrastructure will be converted to natural gas to preserve about 100 existing positions, and the city is already pursuing a second reactor.
But the project also highlights persistent concerns. Environmental and community advocates point to a history of uranium mining, contamination, and harms to Indigenous and downwind communities. Critics such as Lexi Tuddenham of Healthy Environment Alliance Utah warn the region has been treated as a “sacrifice zone” and question proposals to site federal nuclear facilities near fragile environments like the shrinking Great Salt Lake.
Terra Power says spent fuel will be stored onsite until a federal repository is available and that its design generates less waste than many older reactors. Nevertheless, debate continues over long‑term waste management, environmental justice, and who will bear future costs. Political dynamics are complex as well: some Wyoming officials who supported the project opposed the federal law that helped fund it, while neighboring states explore their own nuclear strategies, including Utah’s proposal for a “nuclear life cycle” campus to enrich, recycle and store fuel.
As construction proceeds in Kemmerer, the project captures both the promise of new clean‑energy jobs and investment and the unresolved tensions around radioactive waste, environmental impacts and long‑term accountability.