In the United States, the frantic race for civil nuclear power.
Bill Gates’ TerraPower to Build Revolutionary Nuclear Plant in Wyoming
After driving alongside the railway for dozens of kilometers through the green hills of Wyoming, a smell suddenly emerges, followed by the appearance of the immense chimneys of the Kemmerer coal-fired power plant. One is spewing its fumes, but not for long: the plant, owned by Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett’s firm, will be converted to natural gas in 2026. The 190 miners of the adjacent coke deposit, who risk losing their jobs, are disheartened.
This image, that of Wyoming endlessly lamenting the end of coal, is misleading. Continuing the road, just 3 kilometers away, on the right, is a huge construction site with a small sign: “TerraPower.” Behind this unknown company is a global star, Bill Gates. The founder of Microsoft, now a philanthropist, has decided to build a revolutionary nuclear power plant in this remote location to, in particular, meet the voracious energy demand of artificial intelligence (AI). Since 2006, he has invested $1 billion of his fortune, estimated at $175 billion by Bloomberg, in the venture. The project will cost $4 billion, financed equally by his company and the federal government, which is matching the investment through the Department of Energy. The scheduled commissioning date is summer 2030.
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