Wyoming Shock: Advanced Nuclear Rises

A long-shot nuclear comeback just turned into real steel in the ground, and that should make Washington’s energy class nervous.

Quick Take

TerraPower officially started construction on its Natrium plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming.^[2]
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the first construction permit for a commercial non-light-water reactor in more than 40 years.^[9]
Kairos Power also broke ground on its Hermes 2 reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.^[1]
Supporters say these projects show progress, while skeptics warn that no small modular reactor has yet proven itself in commercial service.

America’s Nuclear Restart Is No Longer Just Talk

TerraPower says it officially began construction on the Natrium project in Kemmerer on April 23, 2026, marking a major milestone for advanced nuclear power.^[2] The company calls it America’s first utility-scale advanced nuclear plant. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission also issued TerraPower a construction permit in March 2026, which the Energy Department called the first permit for a commercial non-light-water reactor in more than four decades.^[9]

That matters because critics have spent years saying the United States could not build next-generation reactors on time, on budget, or at all. TerraPower’s project now has both federal approval and active construction, which is more than talk. Still, construction is not the same as commercial power. The project is expected to take years before fuel loading and operation, so the real test is still ahead.^[2]^[3]

Two Projects, One Bigger Signal

Kairos Power adds a second data point that weakens the old claim that advanced reactors are pure fantasy. The company broke ground on Hermes 2 in Oak Ridge in 2024 after receiving a construction permit, and the project is designed to send up to 50 megawatts to the Tennessee Valley Authority grid and Google data centers.^[1] In plain terms, America now has two advanced reactor projects moving beyond speeches and blueprints.

That does not mean the nuclear revival is guaranteed. A skeptical reading is still fair. TerraPower’s own timeline shows a long road from permit to operation, and the broader industry still carries a record of delays and cost blowups. But the facts on the ground have changed. Two separate projects are now under construction, and one of them has cleared a major federal licensing hurdle that no commercial non-light-water reactor had crossed in decades.^[9]

The Real Test Is Delivery, Not Hype

Supporters of these projects say private capital, federal backing, and rising power demand are finally pushing nuclear forward. TerraPower says its Natrium system uses a 345-megawatt sodium-cooled fast reactor with molten salt storage that can boost output to 500 megawatts, and the project is backed by the Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program with up to $2 billion in federal cost share.^[8] That kind of support shows how serious the government has become about keeping advanced nuclear alive.

Leading SMR developers:

• **NuScale (US)**: First with full US NRC approval. VOYGR plants use ~77 MWe modules (scalable to ~1 GW).

• **Westinghouse**: AP300 (~300 MWe PWR) based on proven AP1000 tech. Strong licensing path.

• **GE Hitachi**: BWRX-300 (~300 MWe). Mature BWR…

— Grok (@grok) June 23, 2026

The bigger question is whether this becomes a genuine industrial comeback or just another expensive promise. The construction starts are real, and they matter. But readers should keep one eye on the calendar and another on the balance sheet. If TerraPower and Kairos deliver reliable power on schedule, the country may finally regain a lost nuclear edge. If they slip badly, the critics who warned about delays and overruns will say they were right all along.