TerraPower gets OK to start construction of its first nuclear plant
9 hours ago
- #TerraPower
- #Sodium-Cooled Reactor
- #Nuclear Energy
- US Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued its first construction approval in nearly a decade.
- Approval allows TerraPower, backed by Bill Gates, to begin work on a site in Kemmerer, Wyoming.
- TerraPower's Natrium reactor is sodium-cooled and incorporates energy storage in its design.
- Natrium is a fast-neutron reactor, potentially consuming isotopes that would otherwise become radioactive waste.
- The reactor is smaller (345 MW) compared to traditional plants (~1 GW) and includes a salt-based energy storage system.
- Energy storage allows the plant to operate flexibly around renewable power and temporarily boost output to 500 MW.