US issues first commercial construction permit for a nuclear reactor in years to a Wyoming project

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued its first construction permit for a commercial nuclear reactor in eight years Wednesday, granting approval to plans by a Bill Gates-backed company to build a sodium-cooled reactor in western Wyoming.

TerraPower filed for the permit in 2024, with construction now set to begin within weeks. Completion of the is targeted for 2030, according to TerraPower.

“We have spent thousands of manpower hours working to achieve this momentous accomplishment,” TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque said in a statement.

Microsoft co-founder Gates, who is eyeing nuclear as a power source for the electricity-hungry data centers behind artificial intelligence, is a founder of and primary investor in TerraPower.

The TerraPower plant is set to be built on the site of a coal-fired power plant that is being converted to burn natural gas near Kemmerer, a town of about 2,500 people 130 miles (210 kilometers) northeast of Salt Lake City. PacifiCorp’s Naughton plant will continue operating in the meantime.

The 345-megawatt reactor could generate up to 500 megawatts at its peak, enough for up to 400,000 homes.