Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are teaming up to turn an old Wyoming coal plant into a billion-dollar nuclear reactor. Known as an advanced nuclear reactor, it will be a carbon-free power source that’s said to be safer and cheaper than old-school reactors, according to the World Nuclear Association. The new project will be called Natrium, and it brings together TerraPower, Gates’ company, with PacifiCorp, Buffett’s power company. They plan to produce 500 megawatts of power at peak demand times and foresee powering 400,000 homes. “We think Natrium will be a game-changer for the energy industry,” Gates said in a press briefing. The companies expect to announce the exact location of the site by the end of the year. The demonstration plant will take approximately seven years to build, according to TerraPower’s president and CEO, Chris Levesque. Wyoming Governor Mark Jordan has embraced the project, both for creating energy while reducing CO2 emissions as well as for the hundreds of operation and construction jobs the project promises. “This is our fastest and clearest course to becoming carbon negative,” Gordon said in the press briefing. “Nuclear power is clearly a part of my all-of-the-above strategy for energy.” Wyoming Senator John […]
Reading Time: < 1 minute
