Nuclear power startup TerraPower said it is considering building five additional advanced reactor units in Western states, a major development for an industry that hopes to transform the nuclear power sector with the next generation of reactors.
The advanced nuclear reactor developer, which Bill Gates founded in 2008, announced Thursday that it is studying the feasibility of deploying up to five more of its Natrium advanced reactor and integrated energy storage systems by 2035. The units could be put in any of six states within the service area of electric company PacifiCorp, which serves customers in Oregon, Washington, California, Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming. These units build on the demonstration plant TerraPower is already actively developing in order to prove the commercial viability of the novel technology.
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“This joint study is a significant step toward building the energy grid of the future for PacifiCorp’s customers and a tangible example of the promise advanced nuclear brings to utilities serious about leading the nation’s energy transition,” said TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque.
TerraPower will jointly study the plant feasibility with PacifiCorp, its utility partner in the demonstration project. The two companies announced last November their intent to build the demonstration project to prove the 345-megawatt sodium-cooled fast reactor and molten salt-based energy storage system at the site of a retiring coal plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming.
Their joint study will evaluate the potential for advanced reactors to be located near current fossil-fueled generation sites, TerraPower said. That would enable PacifiCorp “to repurpose existing generation and transmission assets for the benefit of its customers.”
TerraPower is among a number of companies that are designing advanced nuclear reactors, which in general are smaller and more versatile than the legacy units powering existing legacy plants.
The company has received funding from the Department of Energy to demonstrate its technology and is targeting 2027 to demonstrate the Natrium reactor.
Nuclear is a major part of the Biden administration’s energy and climate change agenda for its clean and reliability characteristics. Nuclear plants do not emit greenhouse gas emissions when operating, as fossil fuel-fired plants do.
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TerraPower’s announcement was made in conjunction with the United Nations-led International Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Power in the 21st Century, where Gates made a video appearance on Wednesday to pitch his startup’s technology and helped kick off the three-day summit in Washington, D.C.
“Every possible path to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions requires non-weather-dependent electricity generation, which only nuclear energy can provide at scale,” Gates said.
