EDUCATORS’ PERSPECTIVE
Why Kemmerer, Wyoming Matters: Part 4
By Brian Grinder and Dan Cooper
On June 10, 2024, an Airbus H145 helicopter broke the silence over the sagebrushcovered hills surrounding Kemmerer, Wyoming. It is rare to see such a magnificent chopper landing at the Kemmerer airport, but here it was on a beautiful late spring afternoon bearing billionaire Bill Gates. A black SUV stood ready to whisk the co-founder of Microsoft to the groundbreaking ceremony for TerraPower’ s first Natrium nuclear reactor. 1
After the ceremony, Gates returned to downtown Kemmerer, where he played a game of Texas hold’ em with some of the locals at the Wyoming Fossils store. One of the co-owners of the store described Gates as“ a regular guy and we just wanted to play cards with him.” After the game, the“ regular guy” returned to his chopper and was spirited away from the remote Wyoming town.
According to Tara Nieder, TerraPower’ s Natrium project director,“ We looked at multiple locations within Wyoming [ where ] Pacificorp 2 had retiring coal plants, but Kemmerer was the most welcoming.” The Naughton plant, located about four miles southwest of downtown Kemmerer, was scheduled to be mothballed in 2036. The plant, along with the nearby coal mine, provided most of the employment opportunities in the area. Now, with both facilities facing closure, Kemmerer was in danger of becoming a ghost town.
TerraPower’ s decision to build its first small modular reactor( SMR) near Kemmerer promised to breathe new life into the region. The Kemmerer-Diamondville area has a population of about 3,000 people. The construction phase of the Natrium plant will create about 1,600 temporary jobs, and when the plant is completed in 2030, it will provide between 200 and 250 permanent positions. This translates into an economic boom for the area, but it brings with it a number of challenges.
The first sign of strain appeared during the groundbreaking ceremony, when Terrapower reserved every room in the
Hello from Kemmerer, Wyoming! It’ s been just over a year since my last visit, and I’ m blown away by how much has changed.
One of the oldest buildings in downtown Kemmerer— once an opera house— has been restored and is now home to a mercantile and a bakery. Just down the street, the owners of the local coffee shop have purchased an [ sic ] 100-year-old building to expand their operation. A law office has opened, and city officials tell me that plans are moving forward for new multi- and single-family housing developments.
I’ m thrilled to see so much economic growth happening, because Kemmerer will soon be home to the most advanced nuclear facility in the world. I just left the groundbreaking ceremony for the firstever Natrium plant, which will bring safe, next-generation nuclear technology to life right here in Wyoming. It’ s a huge milestone for the local economy, America’ s energy independence and the fight against climate change.
area’ s largest hotel— the 80-room Best Western— for the event. This little town experienced significant growing pains. A severe housing shortage will be mitigated by the construction of modular housing, but that has not prevented existing home prices from skyrocketing.
Increasing demands on the town’ s infrastructure will not be remedied so quickly. The aging sewer system cannot handle the population increase and will need to be replaced. A new system will cost between $ 40 and $ 60 million. The town’ s crumbling streets are also a problem. In some places, the roads are in such bad shape they have been blocked off.
The economic boom would not be complete without outside speculators who are busy snapping up homes and business buildings in the hopes of making a quick buck. An increase in crime is also expected, which will place additional burdens on state and local law enforcement.
In spite of these challenges, more economic opportunities are finding their way to the area. TriSight AG, a well-funded organization, plans to set up operations to
— Bill Gates
process coal into organic compounds that will be used in their skincare product line known as“ Heros.” The recent change in presidential administrations has brought about a reprieve for the coal industry. While the Biden administration sought to severely curb or eliminate coal as a power source, the Trump administration has shown support for the industry. As a result, Pacificorp has decided not to close the Naughton plant in 2036. Although there are no plans to return to its coal-fired past 3, this decision will preserve most of the current jobs at the plant for an indefinite period of time. Sabey Data Centers is also contemplating an artificial intelligence( AI) data center near Kemmerer to be powered by future TerraPower nuclear plants. And, of course, additional TerraPower nuclear plants may also be built near Kemmerer. The future looks bright.
Kemmerer, Wyoming’ s economic turnaround is a direct result of the change in attitude towards nuclear energy. Although the Greenpeace website 4 still argues that“ Nuclear power is dirty, dangerous and expensive,” many climate scientists and
8 FINANCIAL HISTORY | Summer 2025 | www. MoAF. org