The Wyoming Industrial Siting Council has granted a construction permit to TerraPower for its Natrium nuclear power plant near Kemmerer — a milestone achievement both in Wyoming and nationwide for commercial-scale “advanced nuclear” energy, the company says. “This is the first state permit ever awarded to a commercial-scale advanced nuclear project and is a testament to the groundbreaking work of our TerraPower team,” TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque said in a prepared statement Tuesday. The permit allows for construction of all non-nuclear portions of the Kemmerer Power Station Unit 1 plant. TerraPower has a permit application pending before the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for all of the nuclear-related facilities. “That application was submitted in March 2024 and is on track for approval in December 2026,” according to a TerraPower press statement. “The unique Natrium design enables the company to start non-nuclear construction onsite during the NRC review.” TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque speaks to reporters June 10, 2024 at the location of the future Natrium nuclear power plant outside Kemmerer, Wyoming. (Dustin Bleizeffer/WyoFile) The state’s review included an analysis of environmental and socioeconomic impacts related to the facility, as well as potential avoidance measures such as noise limits and nighttime-light restrictions to minimize negative impacts on birds and skirting cultural resources when possible, according to the state and TerraPower’s 1,459-page permit application. The Industrial Siting Council — a gubernatorial-appointed panel connected to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality — now has 45 days to draw up its approval order and issue the permit. “The regulatory process to bring new nuclear plants to fruition is robust, and our team has been working relentlessly to successfully maneuver through a complicated, multi-jurisdictional environment to bring the first Natrium plant to market,” Levesque said. TerraPower began construction on a stand-alone but related facility — a liquid sodium testing center — in June, marking the occasion with a groundbreaking ceremony that included some 300 guests and company founder, Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates. The phased nature of construction for the larger project will cycle in workers with different construction and engineering skills, peaking at about 1,600 workers in 2028, according to TerraPower. The plant is slated to begin generating electricity in 2030. Natrium project TerraPower selected the Kemmerer location in the fall of 2021 after analyzing a handful of other potential locations in Wyoming to co-locate the facility next to a coal-fired power plant slated for retirement. The idea, according to the company, was to utilize existing infrastructure associated with coal plants, including tapping the local workforce. The company chose a site near the Naughton natural gas and coal-fired power plant just outside the towns of Kemmerer and Diamondville in Lincoln County. PacifiCorp/Rocky Mountain Power’s Naughton natural gas and coal-fired power plant, pictured Jan. 19, 2022 on the outskirts of Kemmerer, will see its remaining generation units converted to natural gas in 2026. TerraPower plans to commence operations for its “demonstration” Natrium nuclear reactor power plant next to Naughton in 2030. (Dustin Bleizeffer/WyoFile) One of three coal-burning units at the Naughton plant was converted to natural gas a few years ago. The remaining two coal units will be converted to natural gas in 2026, according to majority owner PacifiCorp. TerraPower has partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy, which is expected to contribute about $2 billion of the $4 billion effort, to develop the project, according to the company. PacifiCorp, which operates as Rocky Mountain Power in Wyoming, has tentatively agreed to consider taking over Natrium operations and plug the power plant into its six-state electrical service territory. RELATED Microsoft’s Bill Gates breaks ground on novel nuclear power plant in Wyoming Southwest Wyoming locals pepper feds on proposed Natrium nuclear plant Natrium is an “advanced” nuclear reactor design that will use liquid sodium for cooling. The plant will generate a consistent 345 megawatts of power — enough energy to power about 250,000 homes — with a capability of ramping up to 500 megawatts for short periods of time, according to TerraPower. The reactor will use high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel. The company originally proposed an in-service date of 2028, but had to push the start date back to 2030 due to global events. In 2022, following the invasion of Ukraine, TerraPower cut ties with the Russian state-owned Tenex — the only facility in the world at the time with the capacity to supply commercial volumes of HALEU. TerraPower has worked to secure initial HALEU supplies with companies in U.S.-ally nations, while the Department of Energy is working to support a domestic production and supply chain for HALEU.If successful, the company plans to deploy dozens of Natrium plants across the globe, including several more in Wyoming, TerraPower officials say. The post Natrium ‘advanced nuclear’ power plant wins Wyoming permit appeared first on WyoFile .