Bellevue-based TerraPower, founded and helmed by Bill Gates to develop safe, carbon-free power, has selected a coal plant site in Wyoming for its next-generation nuclear project.

TerraPower, together with partner PacifiCorp and Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, announced its “Natrium” technology will be built at the site of one of PacifiCorp’s retiring coal plants in Wyoming in early June.

The decision is a disappointment in the Tri-Cities, which was under consideration for the project in late 2020. Energy Northwest, one of TerraPower’s partners, proposed building the reactor at Site 4 near the Columbia Generating Station north of Richland.

TerraPower along with Maryland-based X-energy each received $80 million in initial funding with the promise of $3.2 billion over the seven-year course of development from the U.S. Department of Energy in October.

Each is bringing advanced nuclear projects to the market, though the technology differs.

TerraPower is teaming with GE/Hitachi, on a 345MW sodium-cooled reactor.

Energy Northwest is a partner to both and proposed two unused sites near its 1,200-megawatt power plant north of Richland.

While TerraPower is building in Wyoming, X-energy is partnering with Grant County PUD and Energy Northwest to build its X3-100 reactor north of Richland.

Energy Northwest supported TerraPower’s decision in a prepared response to questions about the announcement.

Energy Northwest said it will continue to support TerraPower and wants the Natrium plant to succeed.

While it hoped to host the plant, a spokesperson said the intent was to bring the project to commercial operation. PacifiCorp was included in the application and was the intended outlet or “off-taker” for the power it generates.

“Siting the plant in PacifiCorp’s territory and utilizing a retiring coal facility, with existing transmission and infrastructure, makes sense and we support the decision,” Energy Northwest said.