Natrium

In the proverbial shadow of the Naughton Power Plant, a station in Kemmerer, Wyoming, that will stop burning coal at the end of this year, TerraPower is constructing what it calls “the only advanced, non-light-water reactor in the Western Hemisphere being built today.” The project represents more than just a new power source—it’s a symbolic […]

Curtiss-Wright Corp. said it has been awarded two contracts from TerraPower to design and supply plant simulation and digital control solutions for the Natrium advanced nuclear reactor design. Under the contracts, Curtiss-Wright will design and deliver the training simulator (TSN) and distributed control systems (DCS) for the Natrium plant. The TSN is a full-scope simulator that […]

A group established by Microsoft founder Bill Gates is preparing to begin construction of a new generation of nuclear power plants in June, according to the company’s chief executive. Chris Levesque, CEO of TerraPower, on March 18 said the company is ready to move forward with work on its Natrium reactor at the site of […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for uranium enrichment and storage services as part of a measure aimed at stimulating a domestic supply chain for high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU). The action follows an RFP released in November 2023 for services to deconvert enriched uranium into metal, oxide, and […]

BWX Technologies (BWXT) said it was awarded a “two-phase, two-year contract” with the Wyoming Energy Authority (WEA) to assess the viability of deploying small-scale nuclear reactors in the state to augment existing power generation resources. The WEA says it combines the existing scopes of the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority, Wyoming Pipeline Authority, and the State Energy […]

Many experts believe small modular reactors (SMRs), which are generally classified as nuclear power reactors with an electrical output of 300 MW or less, offer great promise for supplying the world with carbon-free energy. Several SMR designs are under development by companies around the world including NuScale Power, GE-Hitachi, Terrestrial Energy, TerraPower, Toshiba, X-energy, and […]

Regulated utility PacifiCorp has launched a joint study with nuclear technology firm TerraPower to evaluate the feasibility of deploying up to five additional Natrium pool-type sodium fast reactors (SFRs) and integrated energy storage systems at retired coal plant sites in the utility’s service territory by 2035. The joint study “will evaluate, among other things, the […]

A fuel fabrication facility that will create reliable fuel for TerraPower and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s (GEH’s) 345-MWe Natrium pool-type sodium fast reactor (SFR) demonstration in Wyoming and future Natrium nuclear plants is taking shape at Global Nuclear Fuel–Americas’ (GNF-A’s) nuclear fuel fabrication plant in Wilmington, North Carolina. GNF-A, a 2007-established GE-led joint venture with […]

A site at PacifiCorp’s retiring 600-MW coal and gas–fired Naughton Power Plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming, will house the Natrium demonstration, a pioneering commercial-scale 500-MW project that will pair a 345-MW sodium-cooled fast reactor with a molten salt-based energy storage system. Project stakeholders on Nov. 16 unveiled the site for the federally backed demonstration, which will validate […]

Bill Gates’ nuclear innovation startup TerraPower and Berkshire Hathaway Energy subsidiary PacifiCorp are looking to site a federally backed demonstration of their 345-MWe Natrium advanced nuclear reactor system at a retiring PacifiCorp coal power plant in Wyoming. During a June 2  energy event in Cheyenne attended by Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer […]