Construction for a next-generation nuclear power plant, which Bill Gates believes will revolutionize power generation, is underway at their Wyoming site at his energy company.
On Monday, Gates visited the small town of Kemmerer to commence the construction of the project. As the chairman of TerraPower, the Microsoft co-founder applied for a construction permit for an innovative nuclear reactor that uses sodium, instead of water, for cooling in March from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. If the permit is granted, it would function as a commercial nuclear power plant.
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PacifiCorp’s Naughton Power Plant is situated next to the site, and according to the utility, it will cease burning coal by 2026 and natural gas ten years later. Nuclear reactors, on the other hand, function without releasing greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. PacifiCorp intends to acquire carbon-free energy from the reactor and is considering how much nuclear power to include in its long-term strategy.
On Monday, the objective was to prepare the site for TerraPower to construct the reactor as fast as possible if the permit is granted. Sodium-cooled reactors are being developed by Russia and are at the forefront of this technology.
During the groundbreaking event, Gates addressed the audience and expressed his excitement about the future of America’s energy. He confidently stated that the very ground they were standing on would soon become the foundation of the country’s energy future.
Gates expressed his enthusiasm, stating that this is a significant move towards achieving a sustainable, plentiful, and carbon-free energy source. He emphasized the crucial role of successful projects like this for the future of the country.
Advanced reactors have been in existence for decades, utilizing coolants that are different from water and operating at higher temperatures and lower pressures. However, the United States has traditionally constructed large, conventional water-cooled reactors for their commercial power plants. The NRC reports that the Wyoming project is the first time in approximately 40 years that a company has endeavored to establish an advanced reactor as a commercial power plant in the country.
According to Chris Levesque, the President and CEO of the company, it is now the perfect time to transition towards advanced nuclear technology that utilizes cutting-edge computer modeling and physics. This will lead to a more streamlined plant design that is not only cheaper but also considerably safer and more efficient.
The Natrium reactor demonstration project by TerraPower features a sodium-cooled fast reactor design, coupled with an energy storage system that utilizes molten salt.
During an interview, Levesque expressed that the industry’s tendency has been to repeat past performance rather than innovate, which has been reliable but not conducive to progressing with new technology. However, with the increasing electricity demands anticipated in the coming decades, as well as the need to address cost issues associated with current nuclear energy, TerraPower and its founders believe that it’s time to focus on innovation.
The expansion of Plant Vogtle in Georgia, which involved building the first two scratch-built American reactors in a generation, has come at a staggering cost of almost $35 billion. The project, which aimed to add two more traditional large reactors to the plant, ended up with $11 billion in cost overruns.
According to Levesque, the TerraPower initiative is anticipated to carry a price tag of up to $4 billion, with half of the funding provided by the U.S. Department of Energy. This amount also covers the initial expenses of creating and obtaining approval for the reactor design, which means that future iterations will be considerably less costly.
The development of advanced nuclear reactors in the U.S. is dependent on a specialized type of fuel, called high-assay low-enriched uranium, which is enriched with a higher percentage of uranium-235 than traditional reactors. TerraPower faced a two-year delay in launching its project in Wyoming until 2030 due to the reliance on Russia, the only commercial supplier of this fuel. To address this issue, TerraPower is collaborating with other firms to establish alternative sources of the fuel. Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Department is striving to develop this fuel domestically.
On Thursday, Edwin Lyman published an article on Science, co-authored by him, which highlights the potential risk of using a particular fuel for nuclear weapons. As the director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, Lyman stated that the risk associated with HALEU is currently minimal due to the limited quantity available globally. However, he emphasized that if advanced reactor projects, requiring a more significant amount of fuel, progress, the risk could increase significantly. Lyman aims to raise awareness of this danger, hoping that the international community will take measures to enhance security around this fuel.
According to Scott Burnell, a spokesperson for the NRC, the agency firmly believes that its existing requirements are sufficient to ensure the safety and security of any new reactors and their fuel, without compromising on public safety.
In 2008, TerraPower was co-founded by Gates with the objective of promoting advanced nuclear energy through private sector initiatives. The aim was to provide a reliable, plentiful, and environmentally friendly source of energy.
TerraPower’s 345-megawatt reactor has the capability to generate up to 500 megawatts at its peak, providing enough power for around 400,000 homes. The company has disclosed that their initial reactors will be dedicated to producing electricity, but they are considering the possibility of constructing future reactors in close proximity to industrial plants to supply high heat.
According to John Kotek from the Nuclear Energy Institute, the majority of industrial processes that need high heat rely on burning fossil fuels. However, utilizing the heat generated from advanced reactors could potentially produce a variety of useful substances such as hydrogen, petrochemicals, ammonia, and fertilizer.
Kotek, the senior vice president for policy of the industry group, emphasized the importance of Gates’ endorsement of nuclear power as a solution to the climate crisis. Gates, who is known for his technological innovations and advocacy for the environment, believes that nuclear power can play a significant role in addressing this pressing issue.
According to him, nuclear power has an important role to play in reducing carbon emissions both now and in the future. He believes that people are becoming more aware of this fact and there is a growing momentum for the development of new nuclear technologies in the United States. He further added that there is a potential for a wider range of nuclear energy technology to be utilized, which hasn’t been seen in decades.
