Gates-Backed Nuclear Developer Nears Construction on Reactor
(Bloomberg) -- TerraPower LLC is planning to begin construction on a next-generation nuclear reactor in Wyoming by the second quarter after completing key regulatory steps six months ahead of schedule.
The company, founded by billionaire Bill Gates, expects the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to issue a construction permit by February for its 345-megawatt reactor, Chief Executive Officer Chris Levesque said in an interview Tuesday. The agency completed safety reviews for the project Monday and an environmental impact statement in October.
The faster-than-expected review follows US President Donald Trump’s efforts to encourage wider deployment of nuclear power to meet surging demand for electricity. He’s pushed the NRC to streamline its approval process, which is widely seen by the industry as a major bottleneck. The move is raising some concerns from critics.
“This is the major green signal,” Levesque said. “We expect to see actual construction early next year.”
TerraPower is part of a wave of companies pursuing advanced reactor designs amid surging demand for electricity that’s spurred a boom in support for fission power. Its Natrium system will use molten salt as a coolant, a shift that Levesque said will help make it make his product significantly cheaper than conventional nuclear plants that use pressurized water. TerraPower began construction in mid-2024 on non-nuclear parts of the plant, which he expects to go into commercial service in 2031.
Some experts are raising questions about the rapid approval process.
“The only way the staff could finish its review on such a short timeline is by sweeping serious unresolved safety issues under the rug or deferring consideration of them,” Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in an email.
(Updates throughout.)
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