The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued its first construction permit for a commercial nuclear reactor in eight years Wednesday, approving plans by TerraPower to build a sodium-cooled reactor in western Wyoming.

TerraPower, a company founded and primarily funded by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, filed for the permit in 2024. The company announced that construction will begin within weeks, with completion of the facility targeted for 2030.

The estimated $4 billion plant will be constructed on the site of a coal-fired power plant near Kemmerer, Wyoming, a town of approximately 2,500 people located 130 miles northeast of Salt Lake City. The existing PacifiCorp Naughton plant is being converted to burn natural gas and will continue operating during the transition.

The 345-megawatt reactor is designed to generate up to 500 megawatts at peak capacity, which would provide electricity for up to 400,000 homes. Gates has identified nuclear power as a potential energy source for electricity-intensive data centers that support artificial intelligence operations.

"We have spent thousands of manpower hours working to achieve this momentous accomplishment," TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque said in a statement following the permit approval.