A dying coal town. A nuclear gamble. Enter Bill Gates.
episodePreviously titled “Can Bill Gates save this dying coal town with nuclear energy?” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 17, 2026
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Why is Kemmerer, Wyoming’s future tied to a new nuclear plant?
For generations, Kemmer, Wyoming is dependent on coal. Now with its mining future uncertain, the town is becoming the testing ground for a very different vision of American energy. Just outside Kemmer, workers are building a first of its kind nuclear power plant backed by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. Supporters see an economic lifeline. Critics see unanswered questions like whether or not these plants will be safe. But unlike Vegas, what happens in Kemmer won't stay in Kemmer. Instead, it could help determine whether a new generation of nuclear reactors takes hold across the country. entry. Hello and welcome to USA Today's The Excerpt. I'm Dana Taylor. Today is Friday, august fourteenth, twenty twenty six.
USA Today national correspondent Trevor Hughes visited Camera and toured the project site. Joins me now to talk about what he saw on the ground. Trevor, it's good to have you here.
Glad to be here.
Trevor, paint a picture of Kimmer for us. What kind of place is it and what stuck out to you about watching this longtime coal community grapple with the possibility of becoming the birthplace of a new nuclear industry?
I mean, the first thing to know is that Wyoming is our least populated state. It is very sparse. There's not a lot of folks who live there.
How does the Natrium reactor differ from traditional nuclear designs?
And so You know, what happens to one or two people matters dramatically because they are so closely linked to each other. And for generations, Wyoming has really been closely linked to resource extraction, coal, natural gas. You know, Kemmer is a small town in a state that doesn't have a lot of people. It's the it's the birthplace of JCPenney. There's a really good coffee shop there, there's a really fun pizza place there. But it's one of those towns. That's kind of in the middle of nowhere. And it's there largely because of the coal mines. If the coal mines are going to close down, however, it really causes concern for the folks who live there about what their future looks like.
Coal is shaped not just Kimmer's economy but its identity. What would the decline of the mines and the nearby power plant mean for the people who've built their lives around them?
Yeah, you have to understand that that a coal mine pays well, right? These are jobs that are skilled, right? These are skilled labor jobs. These are not nuclear science jobs, but they are jobs in which someone with a high school education can work as a heavy equipment operator and earn a very good living for their family, especially in a state like Wyoming, where the cost of living is low. And so the loss of these really good paying jobs represents a significant blow to This area because so many families have built their lives, their houses, everything around those solid and stable jobs from the coal mines.
I know that you met residents who were already trying to imagine what comes next, including a longtime mine employee who opened a soda shop. What did those conversations reveal about how people are preparing for this transition?
What economic changes are the construction crews bringing to the town?
You know, there's a lot of frustration because Wyoming has a lot of coal. The the coal mines are closing not because they're running out of coal, but because we as a society are moving away from coal in general as a fuel. And so there's a lot of frustration from folks who say they don't really understand why it is that you're gonna turn your back on such a reliable, affordable form of power generation that has, I mean, literally powered America for generations. And so there are people who who are looking for sort of the next big thing, the next thing that helps keep them going, because they have been so focused on this coal mine and power plant for so many years. It really becomes a question of, well, how do we replace those jobs with something else?
Trevor, what exactly is Terra Power building outside Kimmer and how is its natrium reactor different from the traditional nuclear plants that most Americans may picture?
What they're building is a small nuclear reactor. I think many Americans, if you've seen a nuclear power plant, you're you're familiar with sort of these hulking structures, these big cooling towers, these big massive concrete domes that contain the reactor in case of a meltdown.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why is Kemmerer, Wyoming’s future tied to a new nuclear plant?
0:05–1:23
2
How does the Natrium reactor differ from traditional nuclear designs?
1:23–3:00
3
What economic changes are the construction crews bringing to the town?
3:00–5:28
4
Which community members support the project and what do they hope to gain?
5:28–6:50
5
What safety and waste‑storage concerns are critics raising?
6:50–8:27
6
How is taxpayer money being used and why is it controversial?
8:27–10:33
7
What will determine if the Kemmerer plant becomes a national model?
10:33–12:28
8
What could happen to the nuclear waste if a permanent repository never materializes?
12:28–14:05
Speakers
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