On Wednesday, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved construction of a small nuclear reactor backed by Bill Gates’ clean-energy company TerraPower.
The approval marks the first time in nearly a decade that U.S. regulators have cleared construction of a new commercial nuclear reactor.
The project will involve a 345-megawatt sodium-cooled reactor, known as the Natrium design, planned for construction in Kemmerer.
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According to regulators, the facility will include an integrated energy storage system capable of temporarily increasing electricity output to about 500 megawatts.
By comparison, many traditional nuclear plants generate roughly 1 gigawatt, or about 1,000 megawatts.
The approval comes as President Trump seeks to significantly expand the nation’s nuclear power capacity.
Last year, Trump issued executive orders aimed at accelerating the federal permitting process for nuclear projects.
The NRC said its technical review of the TerraPower design was completed in less than 18 months.
#NRCNews: We’ve issued the first commercial reactor construction approval in 10 years for TerraPower’s Kemmerer Power Station in Wyoming. https://t.co/p3RBPYj3qu pic.twitter.com/sFm5Yj9snS
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The Natrium reactor is designed to run on high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU, a fuel enriched to nearly 20%, significantly higher than the roughly 5% used in most reactors today, Reuters reported.
Supporters say HALEU improves efficiency and enables smaller reactor designs, often called small modular reactors or SMR.
Critics, however, argue these systems may struggle to match the cost advantages of larger nuclear plants and raise concerns about fuel security and proliferation risks.
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Last year, NVentures, the venture capital arm of Nvidia Corp, joined a $650 million funding round supporting TerraPower.
TerraPower has also signed an agreement to supply nuclear electricity to Sabey Data Centers, reflecting a broader push toward nuclear energy in the tech sector.
Companies including Amazon.com, Inc., Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Inc.’s Google have also announced nuclear-related partnerships or initiatives.
