TerraPower on April 23 announced the official start of construction on Kemmerer Unit 1 in Wyoming, which is on track to be the first utility-scale advanced nuclear power plant in the United States.
The milestone follows the successful issuance of a construction permit by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and represents the culmination of years of innovation, rigorous engineering and disciplined site preparation, TerraPower said.
The plant features a 345-megawatt sodium-cooled fast reactor with an integrated molten salt-based energy storage system. The storage technology can boost energy output to 500 MW of power when needed.
“The energy storage capability is designed to keep base output steady, ensuring constant reliability, and can quickly ramp up when demand peaks. It is the only advanced reactor design with this unique feature,” the company said.
This first Natrium plant is being developed through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP), a public-private partnership.
When complete, the project will be Wyoming’s first-ever commercial nuclear generating station.
The project has been under active development since TerraPower broke ground on the greenfield site in June 2024 and began construction on non-nuclear support facilities.
TerraPower said it is rapidly commercializing the Natrium technology, which includes an agreement with Meta for up to eight Natrium plants by 2035.
