Bill Gates and Warren Buffett's rich buddies have picked Wyoming to build the first Natrium nuclear reactor on the site of a decommissioned coal plant.
The exact location of the Natrium reactor demonstration project is likely to be announced by the end of the year, according to TerraPower, which was founded by Gates around 15 years ago, and PacifiCorp, which is controlled by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.
Small advanced reactors, which use different fuels than standard reactors, are seen as a crucial carbon-free technology that may augment intermittent power sources like wind and solar as states work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“We believe Natrium will be a game-changer for the energy industry,” Gates said during a press conference in Cheyenne, Wyoming, to announce the initiative.
Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon stated, "This is our quickest and clearest path to achieving carbon zero." In Wyoming, the country's biggest coal-producing state, “Nuclear power is obviously an element of my all-of-the-above energy strategy.”
A 345-megawatt sodium-cooled fast reactor with molten salt-based energy storage could enhance the system's power output to 500 megawatts at peak power demand. Last year, TerraPower estimated that the units would cost around $1 billion.
TerraPower received $80 million in first financing from the US Department of Energy late last year to showcase Natrium technology, and the department has committed additional investment in the coming years, subject to congressional appropriations.
TerraPower's president and chief executive, Chris Levesque, estimated that the demonstration plant would take roughly seven years to complete.
“In the 2030s, we need this kind of clean energy on the grid,” he told reporters.
Experts in nuclear power have warned that advanced reactors may pose a greater risk than ordinary reactors. According to a recent analysis, the fuel supply chain for many advanced reactors would have to be enriched at a significantly higher rate than traditional fuel, making it an enticing target for extremists attempting to build a crude nuclear bomb.
According to Levesque, the plants would lower proliferation threats by reducing overall nuclear waste.
