Federal review of TerraPower’s advanced nuclear plant under construction in Wyoming is about two months ahead of schedule and remains on pace for completion in 2030, company officials announced at a nuclear conference on Wednesday.
TerraPower’s proposal to develop a nuclear plant in Wyoming coal country is meeting requirements outlined by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the company CEO said at NRC’s Regulatory Information Conference in Rockville, Md.
“Things are going quite well with our construction license review, and I think it’s worth noting that America’s next scheduled reactor to go online is in Wyoming,” said Chris Levesque, the president and CEO of the company.
Levesque said Terrapower is converting an old coal-powered plant into a commercial nuclear power plant, named Kemmerer Unit 1. The facility will house the Natrium reactor, a 345-megawatt sodium fast reactor that will have a molten, salt-based energy storage system that can increase output to 500 megawatts of power when needed. That type of output can power 400,000 homes.
Levesque said the NRC is moving at a desired pace with the project, including last month’s approval of the draft safety evaluation for the plant’s construction permit. He applauded the federal agency for allowing state regulators in Wyoming to oversee non-nuclear construction. “This is the right entity to regulate those parts of the plant. So we can start that non-nuclear construction this year, and then start the nuclear construction at the end of the next year, since the NRC is actually ahead of schedule on our licensing review,” he said.
The nuclear plant will be the first one in the state of Wyoming, and is based on a public-private venture between TerraPower and the Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. Both sides agreed to an equal cost share, and the deal authorizes up to $2 billion to complete the project.
Levesque was joined on the conference panel Wednesday by several other influential people in nuclear, including NRC Chairman David Wright and Mirela Gavrilas, the agency’s executive director of operations. Others included Kim Greene, the CEO of Georgia Power, and Maria Korsnick, the CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute.
The NRC’s approach to bringing the Wyoming facility online was applauded, with others stating they want to see the agency continue moving with urgency. This would not only expedite nuclear efforts in the United States, but it would also show the rest of the world that America is a key player in the space, panel members said.
“It’s extraordinarily important to shorten timeframes for certain parts of the (approval) process,” Greene said. “This will confidently allow utilities like us and other utilities in the country to move forward. So I would just encourage you guys to think about how we can shorten timelines and commit to them, so that when people are making the decision to move forward, they know exactly what that timeline is going to be.”
Wright and Gavrilas largely agreed that processes can be more efficient, with Wright stating the NRC intends to keep the Wyoming project ahead of schedule. Gavrilas added that it’s important for the NRC to be responsive and accommodating for those who rely on the agency. “That is a good attitude to have, and it’s important for us to devote effort to license renewals,” she said. “At the same time, we need to develop the infrastructure for reviewing advanced reactors that may come in various shapes and sizes.”
TerraPower is backed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
