SWEETWATER COUNTY — Sweetwater County has been working to bring the Natrium Nuclear Facility to Rock Springs since Rocky Mountain Power and TerraPower announced their plans for an innovative and advanced nuclear reactor facility to be located in Wyoming.
Those efforts are continuing as the Sweetwater County Commission will consider approval of a resolution supporting Sweetwater County as the future location for the facility during its meeting Tuesday. The facility will replace a retired coal plant. Other locations being considered are Gillette, Kemmerer, and Glenrock.
The Sweetwater County Commissioners will meet during their regularly scheduled meeting at the Sweetwater County Courthouse Tuesday, August 17, at 8:30 a.m.
Rocky Mountain Power and TerraPower visited Rock Springs in early July to discuss the future of an advanced nuclear demonstration project in Sweetwater County. Additionally, the Sweetwater Economic Development Coalition also put together a county wide marketing proposal in hopes of recruiting the project.
The resolution being considered during Tuesday’s meeting said that the proposal highlighted Sweetwater County’s greatest amenities, facilities, quality of life and workforce, and included letters of support from local legislators, municipalities, airport, chambers, bus service providers, school districts, college, and enterprise committee.
According to resolution, Sweetwater County has engaged with local leaders, legislators, stakeholders, community partners, local business owners, educators whom expressed overwhelming support for the Natrium Project. Additionally, the Commission wrote a letter of support for the Natrium Reactor Project on July 7.
The resolution goes on to say that the “Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners believe that Sweetwater County offers a qualified and well-trained workforce, extraordinary quality of life, housing, recreation, K12 education, arts and culture, family activities along with immense opportunities for its residents and potential workforce to live, work and play.”
“Sweetwater County has Western Wyoming College that is a hub for workforce and economic development with a number of signature programs that fall within the division of Manufacturing and Industrial Technology, which will provide workforce needs for the Natrium project including retraining of existing plant employees and development of programs to support future nuclear technology jobs,” the resolution states.
Additionally, the resolution states that Sweetwater County offers necessary infrastructure to support the nuclear project, and has shown continued support to the extractive industry.
To view the full meeting agenda, click here. To view the full meeting packet, click here.
