Nuclear

U.S. Issues First Commercial Construction Permit for a Nuclear Reactor in Years

The commission granted the permit Wednesday for a Bill Gates-backed company to build a sodium-cooled nuclear reactor in western Wyoming.

Associated Press

Mar 5, 2026 — 2 min read

Photo of former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates from Sept. 2025, by Alex Brandon/AP

March 5, 2026 (AP) – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday approved its first construction permit for a commercial nuclear reactor in eight years, one that will allow a Bill Gates-backed company to build a sodium-cooled reactor in western Wyoming.

TerraPower filed for the permit in 2024 and construction is now set to begin within weeks. Completion of the up to $4 billion plant is targeted for 2030, according to TerraPower. Microsoft co-founder Gates, who is eyeing nuclear generation as a power source for the electricity-hungry data centers behind artificial intelligence, is a founder of TerraPower and its primary investor.

“We have spent thousands of manpower hours working to achieve this momentous accomplishment,” TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque said in a statement.