Bill Gates’ nuclear project in Kemmerer, Wyoming, breaks ground

Almost three years ago, an unlikely relationship formed between the declining coal town of Kemmerer, Wyoming and one of the richest people in the world – Bill Gates. That’s because his nuclear company, TerraPower, announced it had chosen the community of about 2,500 people for a first-of-its-kind power plant, in part because of Wyoming’s wide open space and existing energy infrastructure. 

Gates and the U.S. Department of Energy are the two main backers of the $4 billion project. There is hope it will pump life back into struggling economies. 

But unless one is 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. 

“Kemmerer’s been good for us”

Mark Thatcher opened the door of his gray stucco home in Kemmerer in early June. Photos of his 21 grandkids covered the hallway wall.  

“I had a grandaughter just graduate,” he beamed. “Can I brag on this?” 

Thatcher built his American dream in this southwest Wyoming coal town. He worked as an electrician in the mine, bought a house, raised a family and retired.

Mark Thatcher stands by his wall celebrating his grandkids and their accolades. He raised his family in Kemmerer, where he worked as an electrician in the coal mine since the 1980s. (Caitlin Tan/Wyoming Public Media)

“So you know what I mean? Kemmerer’s been good for us,” he said. 

And Thatcher wants that for his grandkids.

“If Kemmerer’s dried up, it’s not an opportunity,” he said. 

Kemmerer and coal go hand-in-hand. Notably, Wyoming is the top coal-producing state in the nation. 

So for a while, the town emptied out, mirroring coal’s 16-year decline

“I would say six, seven years ago, there were over 60 empty homes here,” Thatcher recalled. 

But now, there are just 13 homes for sale. Thatcher said Kemmerer is feeling more lively. New families are moving in. There are new businesses and jobs. He thinks it is thanks to several new energy projects in the area, including nuclear. 

Bill Gates and his shovel

In a nearby sea of sagebrush, TerraPower recently broke ground on its nuclear power project. 

On the early June day, Kemmerer’s City Administrator Brian Muir scanned the crowd of about 300. He looked visibly relieved, “after a lot of uncertainty in getting here.” 

That is because the nearby coal plant is permanently closing by 2036.

Even more, it’s fully switching to natural gas in two years. That timeline puts a question mark on the future of the Kemmerer coal mine that serves it. 

Muir’s hope is for those hundreds of workers to be absorbed by the future nuclear facility, which promises 250 long-term jobs and 1,600 temporary construction jobs.

“I think the eyes of the world are upon us to see how soon we can get this done,” he said. 

Primarily because it is a pilot project. Some parts still need to be permitted by the federal government. 

Conventional nuclear power plants are massive and require a lot of water. TerraPower figured out an alternative with their technology dubbed Natrium. This will make the plants smaller, safer, cheaper and more climate-friendly — in theory. 

“It’s working really well inside the computer,” said Bill Gates, standing at the podium. 

The multibillionaire and founder of TerraPower looked on brand at the ground breaking celebration, wearing a blue sweater and black-rimmed glasses. He motioned to the leveled dirt and a tractor (adorned with a Wyoming state flag) behind him. 

“Little bit harder to make it work out there,” Gates lightly chuckled. “But that’s what we’re starting on, starting today.” 

TerraPower still needs to secure a domestic source of fuel — a highly enriched uranium. Right now, it’s only made in Russia

Gates’ vision is for these plants to be the future of America’s growing energy demands — specifically in former coal towns. TerraPower said the plants will tap into existing coal power plant infrastructure and workforce. 

“And you’re the pioneers that are going to make that happen,” Gates said to the eager crowd of energy stakeholders. 

There are tentative plans for five more TerraPower plants in the Rocky Mountain region. 

And with that, Gates grabbed a shovel and plunged it into the dirt.

“Liberal outsiders”

But not everyone felt the camaraderie. Across the highway were about 10 trucks with flags that said things like, “Make America Great Again” and “Trump 2024.”

Ashton Anderson holds his Trump flag at the protest across from the nuclear groundbreaking.  (Caitlin Tan/Wyoming Public Media)

A dozen or so people stood with Ashton Anderson, who broke away to explain. 

“We just don’t like the idea of liberals coming into our state. It’s that simple,” Anderson said, as he held a flag that read, “Take America Back.”

Anderson said their issue was more with Bill Gates being at the helm — he doesn’t think he is far right enough in his politics. It was less about the actual nuclear project. 

And while many agree Gates’ politics do not align with Wyoming, Kemmerer’s downtown is bustling — even just compared to a year ago. 

A downtown facelift

In the past year, two bakeries, a law office and a home goods boutique opened up downtown. 

And many say business is good, like Tynsky’s Fossils. A little downtown storefront where tourists can buy local fish fossils. Shop co-owner Kodi Tynsky used a small power tool on a fossil, which Kemmerer is also known for. 

Kodi Tynsky stands in front of giant turtle fossil in her shop. Kemmerer is also known for its fossils. (Caitlin Tan/Wyoming Public Media)

“So most of these fish are covered with rock, so we have to uncover it,” she said.

Four years ago she did not know if she could keep the doors open. The town was slow, partly because of COVID. 

“That was our first year of business. So it was very scary,” Tynsky said. 

Business is good now. Several customers came in just within a few minutes. Tynsky added that she thinks it will only get better with the nuclear project. 

“I think it’ll bring in new people, hopefully, so Kemmerer doesn’t become a ghost town again,” she said. 

Construction on the nuclear project is expected to take six years. So for that time at least, Tynsky expects lots of foot traffic and, hopefully, business. 

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.  

Visited 1 times, 1 visit(s) today

Related Article

Bill Gates: Apple founder Steve Jobs was great at design but not a good …

In a recent interview, Bill Gates shared an interesting anecdote about his relationship with the late Steve Jobs, revealing that Jobs once suggested he should have taken LSD to improve his design sense. Gates recalled Jobs saying, “Steve Jobs once said that he wished I’d take acid because then maybe I would have had more

Who Is Aravind Srinivas, CEO Who Has Challenged Elon Musk Over USAID

New Delhi: Aravind Srinivas, the Indian-origin CEO of the AI search engine Perplexity AI, is not new to controversies. Recently, he challenged his Tesla counterpart Elon Musk to “stop” him if he can from raising a mammoth sum from the federal agency. “Considering raising $500B from USAID. Funding secured. Stop me if you can @elonmusk

Commercials Try to Shake Up Celebrity Formula

Celebrities may no longer be winning at the Big Game. An array of Super Bowl advertisers turned up with creative ideas that shunned the typical famous faces making quick-paced jokes in favor of concepts meant to inspire. Nike burnished a host of female athletes backed by the Led Zeppelin chestnut “Whole Lotta Love.” Pfizer took

How Elon Musk’s Company Starlink is Involved in a Super Bowl 2025 Commercial

By Olivia Bellusci is a Newsweek writer based in New York. Her focus is reporting on entertainment news. She has in depth knowledge of the pop culture landscape. Olivia joined Newsweek in 2024. She is a graduate of Pace University. You can get in touch with Olivia by emailing o.bellusci@newsweek.com. You can find her on

Taylor Swift, Blue Ivy Carter, and All the Celebrities at Super Bowl 2025

It’s Super Bowl 2025 time, and while many are glued to their screens for the Super Bowl LIX showdown between Taylor Swift and Gigi Hadid — sorry, we mean the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles — others are just in it for the celebrity sightings. And the celebs were out in full force in

Photos: Biggest Celebrities At Super Bowl 2025

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – FEBRUARY 09: (L-R) Kevin Costner and Pete Davidson attend the Super Bowl … [+] LIX Pregame at Caesars Superdome on February 09, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Roc Nation) Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Roc Nation Kevin Costner, Pete Davidson, Taylor Swift, Jay-Z, Adam Sandler, Bradley

All the Celebs at the 2025 Super Bowl LIX

Celebrities are flocking to New Orleans faster than I flock to a table full of cheese dips, wings, and tiny football stadiums made out of deli meat. In other words: Super Bowl LIX is upon us, and A-listers have arrived to watch the Kansas City Chiefs go up against the Philadelphia Eagles. Obviously, Taylor Swift

Celebrities at Super Bowl 2025

Dozens of Hollywood notables and celebrities are in New Orleans on Sunday to witness the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles during football’s biggest night. Jay-Z, Adam Sandler and Bradley Cooper were among players, coaches and thousands of fans inside the Caesars Superdome to watch Super Bowl LIX. The Grammy-winning rapper was spotted on the

Vance Accuses Judges Who Block Trump’s Executive Orders of Acting Illegally

Vice President JD Vance attacked federal judges on Sunday for blocking several of the Trump administration’s sweeping executive actions, characterizing their recent decisions as “illegal.” “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” Mr. Vance wrote on social media. Mr. Vance’s post raises questions about whether the Trump administration will abide by federal rulings

President Donald Trump Super Bowl pregame interview: How to watch

President Donald Trump prerecorded an interview with Bret Baier that’s scheduled to be aired on Sunday, ahead of Super Bowl 59. Part of the interview with Baier, Fox News Channel’s chief political anchor, will air at 3 p.m. ET during the Fox Super Bowl Sunday pregame show, according to Fox News. The rest of the interview

3 memoirs illustrate the peculiar lives of celebrities

Throughout the 1990s, I was a music journalist in London. I profiled hundreds of rock bands at the start of their careers, including Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails and the Foo Fighters. I can’t imagine a better way to have spent my twenties. But I witnessed a downside. For many

Which Celebrities Are Eagles and Chiefs Fans?

With Sunday’s Super Bowl LIX pitting the Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles once again, viewers must decide who to root for — and if they want to jump on a bandwagon fanbase, there are plenty of celebrity fans they can get behind. The most famous and obvious fan is Taylor Swift, who has

Has WWE’s Use Of Streaming Celebrities Gone Too Far?

There has been an influx of celebrities getting involved in wrestling over recent years to varying degrees of success, with the general quality of their in-ring performances actually being pretty good. This has certainly been a feature of WWE in recent times, as they have welcomed the extra exposure that booking famous people from other

Trump says he has spoken with Putin about ending Ukraine war | US foreign policy

Donald Trump has said he held talks with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, over a negotiated end of the three year Russia-Ukraine war, indicated that Russian negotiators want to meet with US counterparts. Trump told the New York Post that he had spoken to Putin, remarking that “I better not say” just how many times.

Donald Trump’s FBI nominee Kash Patel under fire over Shein stake

Kash Patel, Donald Trump’s nominee for FBI director, has come under scrutiny over his business ties, including holding stock in a group that owns Shein, the Chinese fast-fashion retailer accused of using forced labour. Patel stated in a financial disclosure form that he held $1mn-$5mn worth of shares in Elite Depot, a Cayman Islands group

I understand why families are divided and friendships are disintegrating over Trump

Quick Take Donald J. Trump’s rhetoric, manner and needs are so abhorrent and terrifying that retired attorney Peter Gelblum understands why talking about him causes rifts in families. He fears this state will only get worse as the Trump presidency advances. Trump supporters will just have to accept why friends and family don’t want to

Trump’s sanctions against the ICC are disgraceful | Kenneth Roth

Donald Trump’s executive order reauthorizing sanctions against international criminal court (ICC) personnel reflects a disgraceful effort to ensure that no American, or citizen of an ally such as Israel, is ever investigated or prosecuted. Quite apart from this warped sense of justice – that it is only for other people – the president’s limited view

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x