Bill Gates said he is ready to invest billions of dollars in building a next-generation nuclear power plant project in Wyoming to meet the growing demand for electricity in the United States.
Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Bill Gates said on CBS that TerraPower LLC, a new company founded by Gates, broke ground last week to build the first commercial reactor in Wyoming, a coal-fired reactor in the state. Power plants are shutting down. Facing the whole country. TerraPower has been exploring simpler, cheaper reactors since 2008 and expects to have the new reactor completed by 2030.
“I’ve invested over a billion dollars, and I’m going to invest billions more,” said Gates, who ranks sixth in the world according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
TerraPower’s plant, which is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, was initially expected to be operational in 2028. Fareed Zakaria GPS.
The reactor design uses liquid sodium instead of water as the coolant and includes molten salts that can store heat to boost its output. Gates said TerraPower plans to source reactor fuel from the United States and its allies.
“Coal is being defeated by 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 announced ambitions to triple their nuclear power capacity at the COP28 climate change conference in Dubai, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
