As nuclear plant moves fast, Kemmerer races time — and tradition — to keep up

The town of Kemmerer is booming before its eyes. There have been 110 workers on site this winter and TerraPower will soon be moving in hundreds more to build the actual nuclear plant. At its peak there will be 1,600 construction workers. Despite the sight of the Test and Fill Facility rising to the sky, Mayor Robert Bowen said people still question whether the development is truly real. “Even with it right there visible,” he said, “I mean, open your eyes. It’s right there.”

TerraPower’s next-generation nuclear power plant outside of Kemmerer is no longer hypothetical. The key construction permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been granted, and concrete and steel are already moving on the site. Once the plant is finished, there will be at least 200 to 250 permanent, high-paying jobs, with some estimates drifting higher. Bowen has been told the plant is highly scalable, and a second unit isn’t out of the question.

The town faces a pivotal moment. While many are working hard to prepare for what they see as an exciting future, they are racing against time to address aging infrastructure and limited amenities. There is also an undercurrent of ambivalence about how big Kemmerer, population 2,415, really wants to get. “I’d love to see Kemmerer stay — I won’t say small — but I don’t want to see us turn into Rock Springs,” Bowen said. “But I would like to see if we can get Kemmerer and Diamondville combined to 5,000-6,000 people. I think that’s a comfortable number.”

The downtown has seen new businesses open, including a whiskey and steakhouse called Bootleggers and a “dirty” soda shop. But the thing Kemmerer needs most is housing. Rents have already soared, with one resident reporting her former rental now going for $2,500 instead of $650. Developer Mark Germaine has several projects planned, including Gateway PUD with 78 homes and the Canyon Road Development with up to 1,000 apartments eventually. “Everyone knows there’s a tsunami coming,” he said. “How do we get ready for it?”