TerraPower Breaks Ground on Advanced Nuclear Power Plant in Wyoming

TerraPower broke ground in April of 2026 on the flagship Natrium plant's Kemmerer Unit 1 in Wyoming. Anticipated to be the first utility-scale advanced nuclear power plant in the United States, the pioneering facility will feature a 345-MW sodium-cooled fast reactor with an integrated molten salt-based energy system. Each Natrium reactor will have the capacity to increase output to 500 MW for over five hours in response to peaks in demand, supplying the equivalent energy needed to power 400,000 homes. Offering seamless integration with renewable resources, this innovative storage technology will keep base output steady, ensuring constant reliability and enhancing the stability of the grid.

As part of an agreement with Meta, TerraPower will create up to eight Natrium plants by 2035, with the delivery of initial units as early as 2032. This would supply the company with 2.8 GW of carbon-free baseload energy, with the ability to boost total output to 4 GW. Kemmerer Unit 1 will serve as a commercial blueprint for expansion as well as stimulating local economic growth, mobilizing 1,600 workers during construction and employing 250 full-time staff once operational. Strategically located in Wyoming, the country’s number-one producer of uranium, the campus will accelerate the development of next-generation clean energy infrastructure and act as a launchpad for the nuclear renaissance. 

The transformative project is being built through a public-private partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. In their capacity as engineering, procurement, and construction contractor, Bechtel will employ a digital delivery approach that integrates sophisticated technologies such as 3D building information modelling (BIM) within a central data environment. Completion is anticipated in 2030. 

The Natrium reactor is a joint technology of TerraPower and GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy.