Wyoming’s Nuclear Future: The Companies, the Lab, and the Canadian Quiet Giant

“Nobody’s going to sound the alarm for us. If we want the truth, we have to dig for it ourselves—because the ones making the deals behind the curtain sure aren’t going to tell us. Just look at TerraPower: they passed the tax exemption law in 2020, before the project ever went public. They knew exactly what was coming.”

When I heard Representative Tom Kelly on a recent podcast admit he wasn’t fully up to speed on TerraPower, but had read concerns about the safety of Natrium technology, it got me thinking: What do our legislators actually know about what’s being built in Kemmerer?

While Representative Kelly might not have the details, I’ve been tracking this for months. And here’s a fact that keeps getting buried: TerraPower’s Natrium reactor isn’t just a demonstration plant—it’s tax-exempt, thanks to HB0074, passed in 2020[^1], before the public announcement that Bill Gates was going to plant a stake in Southwestern Wyoming…Think about that for a moment. That bill specifically exempted demonstration small modular nuclear reactors from Wyoming’s electricity tax.

While TerraPower is building a $2 billion federally subsidized reactor[^2], a global training center[^3], and branding Wyoming as the face of advanced nuclear energy, Wyoming taxpayers won’t see a dime in tax revenue from the electricity produced, not while it remains a “demonstration.”

But this is bigger than just one reactor.

Wyoming is being quietly transformed into a national nuclear experiment, not just with reactors, but with an entire nuclear fuel value chain. If you’ve been following headlines, you’ve heard of TerraPower in Kemmerer. Maybe even Radiant Industries, trying to set up a manufacturing plant near Bar Nunn[^4]. And you might have heard of BWXT, the defense contractor looking to supply nuclear fuel for micro-reactors at Wyoming mining sites[^5].

But here’s what most people haven’t heard: Aecon Group, a Canadian infrastructure giant, has been quietly planting flags across Wyoming. Since July 2024, they’ve registered at least six separate corporate entities in the state, covering everything from infrastructure development to industrial services and utilities[^6]. That’s not a guess, that’s a playbook.

Because Wyoming isn’t just being positioned as a place to build reactors, but as a place to mine the uranium, enrich the fuel, fabricate the cores, build the reactors, train the workforce, and eventually store the waste.

If Wyoming wants to be that full-stack nuclear hub, like the Canadians have with their CANDU fleet, they’ll need Aecon’s expertise.

The TerraPower Exception: Tax-Free, Training-Focused

TerraPower is building its Natrium demonstration reactor in Kemmerer, and along with it, a 30,000+ sq. ft. training center to prepare operators for Wyoming’s plant and all future Natrium reactors worldwide[^3].

But thanks to Wyoming’s HB0074 (2020), this demonstration reactor is entirely tax exempt[^1]. That’s right, while the state funds infrastructure and the training center is publicly celebrated, no electricity taxes will be collected on any energy generated from this project while it remains classified as a demonstration.

So TerraPower gets:

• A $2 billion federal subsidy[^2]

• A tax-exempt reactor[^1]

• A global training hub funded and built in Wyoming[^3]

• All while establishing the PR optics that Wyoming is “leading the future of energy”

Meanwhile, the real manufacturing and infrastructure work might just go to outside firms like Bechtel and, silently, Aecon.

The Players: What They’re Really Doing

• Bechtel gets the high-profile construction contract for the reactor itself[^7].

• Aecon quietly files corporations to be ready for everything else: site prep, utilities, manufacturing facilities, industrial services, and potentially waste management infrastructure[^6].

• Radiant Industries is asking for state and county incentives to build a manufacturing plant for microreactors, despite not having tested a reactor yet[^4].

• BWXT is already producing TRISO nuclear fuel and has a deployment agreement with Tata Chemicals for a microreactor in Green River[^5].

• And INL (Idaho National Lab) remains the essential federal test bed where every private company runs to validate their designs, reactors, and fuels[^8].

Comparative Table: TerraPower, Radiant, BWXT, Aecon, and INL

Sidebar: The Legal Trap Door—How Wyoming Could Get Stuck With Nuclear Waste

In June 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in NRC v. Texas that unless a state or party officially participates in the NRC licensing process, they can’t sue to block a federal license for a nuclear waste storage site[^9]. But the Court didn’t answer whether the NRC even has the legal authority to let private companies store spent nuclear fuel away from reactors, that question remains wide open[^10].

At the same time, Wyoming’s lawmakers have been quietly rewriting the rules:

• SF0186 (2025) would’ve let companies like TerraPower store all of their reactors’ spent fuel in one Wyoming location, even if those reactors are scattered across the state[^11]. The waste would stay here indefinitely under the guise of “temporary dry cask storage.” This bill passed the senate but died in the house.

• HB0016 (2025) tried to strip the Legislature’s power to approve or reject high-level waste storage projects, handing that authority over to the NRC and state regulators without direct legislative say[^12]. Thankfully, it died in committee, but just barely.

Now enter Radiant Industries, pushing to manufacture portable micro-reactors in Wyoming. If the law changes to accommodate them, letting them ship micro-reactors out of state, then return them for refueling or refurbishment, Wyoming could inherit the spent fuel from reactors that never even operated here. If Radiant collapses or sells their site? The waste stays put, and the next buyer could easily convert that “temporary” site into a commercial waste dump for reactors across the country.

In short: change the law for one company, and you’ve opened the legal floodgates. Pair that with the Supreme Court ruling, and Wyoming could soon find itself with no veto power, and a permanent stockpile of nuclear waste it never asked for.

Why This Matters

Wyoming is not just the future home of reactors. It’s being shaped as the nuclear value chain, and yet, most citizens don’t even know who’s involved or what’s at stake.

• Aecon is making a long game play to build everything around these projects[^6].

• TerraPower and Radiant are chasing headlines and federal dollars.

• BWXT is methodically locking down the fuel side of the equation[^5].

• INL remains the gatekeeper for testing and validation—but none of it stays public[^8].

The real question Wyoming citizens should ask:

When these companies cash in, who benefits? Wyoming workers and taxpayers, or just Canadian corporations, Silicon Valley billionaires, and foreign investors?

And remember, Radiant Industries doesn’t even have a tested, proven product yet. Their micro-reactor design still needs to be validated at Idaho National Lab, likely not until 2026 or later[^4]. But that hasn’t stopped them from asking Wyoming taxpayers to invest in their hypothesis, before they’ve proven anything works.

Footnotes

[^1]: Wyoming HB0074, Enrolled Act No. 60, House of Representatives (2020 Budget Session).

[^2]: DOE Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program; TerraPower Natrium award up to $2 billion.

[^3]: TerraPower press release, August 2024 – Kemmerer Training Center announcement.

[^4]: Oil City News, “Natrona County backs $25M grant for Radiant Industries,” June 2025.

[^5]: World Nuclear News, “Tata, BWXT to explore microreactor use at Wyoming site,” July 2024.

[^6]: Wyoming Secretary of State filings; Aecon entities registered July–December 2024.

[^7]: Bechtel press release, partnership with TerraPower for Natrium reactor construction.

[^8]: Idaho National Laboratory, National Reactor Innovation Center support for advanced reactors.

[^9]: Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, 605 U.S. ___ (2025), Supreme Court decision June 18, 2025.

[^10]: Ibid. Court declined to answer whether NRC has statutory authority for private, away-from-reactor storage.

[^11]: Wyoming Legislature, SF0186 (2025).

[^12]: Wyoming Legislature, HB0016 (2025).