SWEETWATER COUNTY — The Sweetwater Economic Development Coalition (SEDC) recently submitted a County wide marketing proposal to the executives of TerraPower and PacifiCorp to aide in the selection process of recruiting the Natrium Nuclear Facility to Sweetwater County.
SEDC presented this proposal to the Sweetwater County Commission Tuesday. SEDC Economic Development Specialist Kayla McDonald said they made sure to highlight all of the benefits of Sweetwater County.
“We captured everything from quality of life, education, and healthcare, into recreation and our community profile,” McDonald said.
Additionally, they highlighted the available properties within the county, which could be used for storage, headquarters, or other purposes for interested businesses.
“We have that abundance,” McDonald said.
Some of those properties included the Halliburton, Schlumberger Oil, and Knight Oil Tools locations, as well as Middle Baxter Road.
Along with the proposal, SEDC also gathered multiple letters of support including from both the Rock Springs and Green River Chambers, Sweetwater County School District No. 1 and No. 2, Western Wyoming Community College, the Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport, Le Bus Wyoming, and from Sweetwater County’s Wyoming State Legislators.
“I think we did a very good job showing Sweetwater County, and that we’re ready and willing to embrace a historic possibility here in Wyoming,” McDonald said.
McDonald added that in the proposal they “made the case that the college has a great work force training program”.
The Commissioners expressed gratitude to SEDC for the work they’ve put in. Commissioner Roy Lloyd said that this proposal and the effort to bring the Natrium Nuclear Facility to Sweetwater County shows that the County is serious about diversifying the economy.
Chairman Randy “Doc” Wendling said that he was “really proud” of the proposal and how it all came together. The Commissioners also noted that this proposal can serve as a tool to recruit other businesses and industry to the area.
“We got great information from everybody involved… And that shows all industries, not just Rocky Mountain Power and TerraPower, that we’re open for business here in Sweetwater County,” Commissioner Lauren Schoenfeld said.
The Natrium project is estimated to cost roughly $4 billion and take about seven years to complete once construction permits are granted. The project has been narrowed down to four sites including Sweetwater County, Kemmerer, Glenrock, and Gillette. TerraPower and Rocky Mountain Power will be visiting all four sites, according to McDonald.
The discussion and proposal can be watched in the video below.
Other Business
The Commissioners also approved the MOU between SEDC and the County and the cities of Green River and Rock Springs during the meeting Tuesday.
The MOU is the same as in the past, in which the three entities will each fund SEDC $30,000 to continue efforts for business retention and recruitment. The total funding SEDC receives from the three entities is $90,000.
