Bill Gates’s TerraPower and Warren Buffett’s PacifiCorp, have joined hands in launching the first advanced Natrium nuclear reactor in Wyoming. The companies said on Wednesday that the exact site of this project will be announced by the end of the year.
In a media conference Bill Gates said, “We think Natrium will be a game-changer for the energy industry”, as it is regarded as a critical carbon free technology that can be used as a supplement to power sources like wind and solar.
Wyoming’s governor, Mark Gordon, said, “This is our fastest and clearest course to becoming carbon negative. Nuclear power is clearly a part of my all-of-the-above strategy for energy.”
TerraPower last year mentioned that the plants required for this project would cost around $1 billion. The US energy department, in order the company to demonstrate Natrium Technology, provided it with an initial funding amount of $80 million last year and in accordance with appropriation, will provide more funding for the following years to come.
TerraPower’s president and chief executive, Chris Levesque told reporters, “We need this kind of clean energy on the grid in the 2030s”. He added that it would take approximately seven years to build the plant while also mentioning that this plant would reduce nuclear waste and in turn reduce the risks of proliferation.
Nuclear Power experts have advised the risks that may come along with this project. The fuel required for advanced reactors would require to be more enriched than conventional fuel and there may attract militants looking to build major nuclear weapons.