# NRC approves TerraPower's construction permit for the first Natrium plant

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/stories/nrc-approves-terrapower-s-construction-permit-for-the-first-natrium-9c3b65f9
Date: 4 Mar 2026
About: [TerraPower](https://technooptimist.io/companies/terrapower.md) · [Natrium (Kemmerer Unit 1)](https://technooptimist.io/energy/natrium-kemmerer.md)
Original source: https://www.ans.org/news/article-7818/nrc-approves-terrapower-construction-permit/

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a construction permit for Kemmerer Unit 1 in Wyoming, the first commercial Natrium reactor. It is the NRC's first commercial reactor approval in nearly a decade and the first for a commercial non-light-water reactor in more than 40 years.

## Key facts

- Unit: a 345 MWe sodium-cooled Natrium reactor with molten-salt storage that can raise output to 500 MWe.
- The review ran about five months ahead of its original plan, though the NRC's end-2025 decision goal was missed by three months.
- Construction was to start within weeks; completion is targeted for 2030, three years behind the original DOE target.
- A separate Part 50 operating license application from US SFR Owner is still needed before the plant can run.
- The project sits in DOE's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, which planned $3.2 billion across its projects.

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