US Boost Nuclear Energy, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett Support Sodium Reactor

Illustration of a nuclear power plant. Illustration photo: Pexels.

JAKARTA - The United States is again stepping up the development of nuclear energy to meet growing electricity needs. In Kemmerer, Wyoming, a new generation of Natrium reactors supported by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett is being built with the help of taxpayers for 2 billion US dollars.

USA TODAY quoted Monday, August 10, saying TerraPower's project is an important part of President Donald Trump's administration's push to build dozens of new nuclear reactors. The electricity is intended for data centers and industries that require large energy supplies.

Sodium is targeted to start generating electricity in the next four years. The small-scale reactor is designed to be built and start operating faster than conventional nuclear plants that are about twice as large.

The project is being built about 8 kilometers from the center of Kemmerer, a small town that for decades has relied on coal. Mines in the area could close in about a decade if they don't get new customers.

Sodium's construction has brought many construction workers to the area. TerraPower estimates the project will eventually create about 1,600 temporary construction jobs and up to 300 permanent jobs to operate the plant.

Mining wages in the area are relatively high. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, many mining jobs in Kemmerer pay around $40 an hour before overtime, almost twice the median wage for all jobs in the region.

"I lived and breathed that coal mine for 35 years and I loved it," miner Michelle Pollard, 61, told USA TODAY. "But we have to change with the times and I'm glad they chose Kemmerer."

The US nuclear push is not only visible in Wyoming. Four other small-scale test nuclear reactors have recently shown success at the Idaho National Laboratory.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright called the move a revival of American nuclear power. According to Wright, advanced nuclear technology is needed to supply energy for industry, strengthen energy security, and maintain the US position in nuclear innovation.

Currently, about 100 reactors from the nuclear construction wave in the 1960s and 1970s are still operating. Nuclear power supplies about 20 percent of the United States' electricity.

However, the Sodium project has also faced criticism. A number of residents have questioned the use of taxpayer money for a project supported by a billionaire. Other concerns concern safety and radioactive waste.

TerraPower states that Sodium is a public-private partnership with equal contributions from companies and taxpayers. According to the company, the investment is necessary to build a new generation of nuclear industry, including fuel supplies, supply chains, and labor.

Physicist and Director of Nuclear Safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists Edwin Lyman is concerned that the Trump administration's aggressive schedule for operating new reactors could compromise safety and security.

The United States does not have a centralized nuclear waste storage facility. Therefore, radioactive waste from reactors such as Sodium will remain stored at the plant site.

TerraPower offers a different technology from conventional reactors. Sodium uses liquid sodium metal to move heat from uranium to a separate steam turbine, instead of using high-pressure steam inside the reactor.

TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque told USA TODAY that the company wants to prove the technology can speed up the construction of a plant without sacrificing safety.

"This is really the beginning of a new era of nuclear power," Levesque said.

USA TODAY, which visited the project site in May, said construction was still in its early stages. The reactor building has not started to be built and there is no nuclear fuel at the site.

Non-nuclear facility work begins in June 2024, while work at the nuclear site begins in April.

TerraPower doesn't plan to stop in Wyoming. Levesque said the company wants to build more than 100 reactors of this type in various countries.