Wyoming’s Business Leaders Say the Future Is Nuclear — and They Want the Public Onboard

The original story by Valeria Fugate for Wyoming News Now.

The Wyoming Business Council is making a pretty bold pitch: if you’re looking for the state’s next big economic chapter, look past coal and gas and take a good, long look at nuclear.

That was the message during the council’s first episode of its new “community conversation” webinar series — a public-facing effort to talk about what’s ahead for Wyoming’s economy and how the state should prepare. And if this first installment is any indication, nuclear energy and advanced nuclear fuel are about to take center stage.

The webinar, which focused on new nuclear technologies and their potential in Wyoming, laid out what officials called a “holistic vision” of how this emerging industry could reshape the state — from jobs to supply chains to long-term opportunities.

“It really kind of shared a holistic vision for how this new energy and new advanced fuel in the new nuclear industry is going to make a difference for Wyoming,” said the Wyoming Business Council’s CEO.

One of the biggest pieces of that vision: BWX Technologies’ proposed advanced nuclear fuel facility in Gillette. The project, officials say, could become a catalyst for statewide growth.

“It’s not just one company that benefits,” the CEO added. “It’s a number of companies across the state that are already benefiting from this, and more will continue as this industry opens its doors to Wyoming.”

In other words: if nuclear takes root here, the ripple effects could reach much farther than Gillette.

Of course, nuclear development isn’t just economic daydreaming — it comes with political baggage. Critics have already pushed one nuclear company out of Wyoming over fears the state would become a national nuclear waste dumping ground.

That pushback isn’t lost on the Business Council. Their message to residents is essentially: don’t write nuclear off, but stay smart.

“Are we as a state going to make sure we put things in from a policy perspective that both protect the state and invite business to come?” the CEO asked.

The balancing act they’re pitching is simple: embrace nuclear for the opportunities it brings, but build guardrails strong enough to prevent Wyoming from being taken advantage of.

The conversation is happening as Wyoming’s broader energy strategy keeps evolving at the national level.

Gov. Mark Gordon has long pitched Wyoming as an “all-of-the-above” energy state, willing to support fossil fuels, renewables, and emerging tech — including nuclear. And under President Trump’s “drill baby drill” energy posture, Wyoming has signaled it remains open to most forms of development.

But that’s not without turbulence. Trump recently canceled nearly $8 billion in grants supporting clean energy projects across 16 states, reshuffling the federal energy landscape.

For the Business Council, the takeaway is that Wyoming can’t rely on Washington.

“I think we’ve got to look at our state and the wealth we have to secure our own future,” the CEO said. “We don’t want to be dependent upon the federal government… We want to use our own wealth to determine our future.”

This nuclear discussion isn’t a one-off event. The Wyoming Business Council says its community conversation series will continue — and they want the public engaged.

The WBC has an open survey on its website and is accepting public comment on nuclear issues through November 25.

Whether Wyoming ultimately becomes a 21st-century nuclear hub or just flirts with the idea will depend partly on public input — and partly on whether the state can navigate the political and economic trade-offs ahead.

For now, though, business leaders are clear: they think nuclear belongs in Wyoming’s future, and they’re hoping residents will think so too.