Bill Gates said he is ready to pump billions of dollars into a next-generation nuclear power plant project in Wyoming to meet the United States' growing electricity needs.
TerraPower LLC, a startup founded by Gates, began construction on its first commercial reactor last week in Wyoming, where a coal plant will be closed, the billionaire Microsoft co-founder told CBS. Facing the nation. TerraPower has been exploring simpler, cheaper reactors since 2008 and expects to complete the new reactor in 2030.
“I have invested more than a billion dollars, and I will invest billions more,” said Gates, the sixth richest person in the world according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The TerraPower plant, which is supported by the US Department of Energy, was initially expected to be operational in 2028. But that would have meant relying on fuel from Russia, which is “unacceptable now,” Gates told CNN. Fareed Zakaria GPS.
The reactor design uses liquid sodium as a coolant instead of water and includes molten salt, which can store heat to enhance its production. Gates said TerraPower plans to obtain reactor fuel from the United States and its allies.
“Coal is outperforming natural gas,” Gates told CNN. “So what we have to do is compete effectively with natural gas.”
Carbon-free nuclear power is increasingly seen as a key part of the fight against climate change, and more companies are promoting smaller reactors. Last year, 25 countries at the COP28 climate change conference in Dubai declared their ambition to triple nuclear capacity, according to BloombergNEF.
