TerraPower named Bechtel as its design, licensing, procurement and construction partner in a federal grant application to build a demonstration Natrium plant as long ago as 2020. A ground-breaking ceremony for the 345 MWe sodium-cooled fast reactor and its accompanying molten salt-based energy storage system was held at the Wyoming site in June 2024, with TerraPower announcing the official start of construction in April this year.
EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) and project management specialist Bechtel said it will remain on site to complete the plant’s Sodium Test & Fill Facility and support an orderly transition.
“Bechtel has supported TerraPower’s Natrium project through several significant milestones, including securing the NRC construction permit, the first ever issued for a commercial non-lightwater reactor in the United States; completing the exterior enclosure of the Sodium Test & Fill Facility; placing major procurements; and beginning foundational work for Kemmerer Unit 1,” Bechtel spokeswoman Molly Edwards told World Nuclear News.
“This work was performed under an earlier phase of the contract, prior to full EPC scope. As we considered the next phase of the project, Bechtel and TerraPower decided to move forward separately.”
In late August, TerraPower announced it had selected 12 equipment vendors to receive contracts to support the construction of the Natrium plant and completion of the sodium facility, as it builds a supply chain to bring an envisaged fleet of Natrium reactors online in the coming decade. The company said it does not expect the latest development to affect the construction timeline.
“Bechtel will remain on site to complete the Sodium Test and Fill Facility, and we look forward to continuing our work with them on that first-of-a-kind facility,” a TerraPower spokesperson told World Nuclear News. “Construction in Kemmerer will maintain its current schedule with the exemplary subcontractor teams and EPC support services from commercial-grade firms that have been working on site. TerraPower is managing this transition to protect the overall construction schedule for Kemmerer Unit 1 and will rebid the EPC contract.”
News of the split emerged after Reston, Virginia-headquartered Bechtel filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act Notification with the State of Virginia, in which it said it would be scaling down its operations supporting the project and reducing staffing levels as work is completed, with around 200 positions and employees affected. The reductions are expected to commence “on or about” 16 November, but Bechtel told the State it is “actively collaborating with our team to identify the next assignments for these employees”.
“Our people will move to other nuclear projects under way across the company, where demand for these skills continues to grow. While the WARN notices are a legal requirement, we do not expect any actual layoffs,” Edwards said.
