(peaceful music) - [Raeann] In small towns across America, it's easy to feel like time is standing still.

(peaceful music continues) While the rest of the world whizzes into the future, (peaceful music continues) there's something about the rustic architecture of quaint Main Street that reminds visitors of a bygone era, but here in Kemmerer, Wyoming.

- There's lots of things that rural communities have to offer.

They just have to sometimes reinvent themselves.

- [Raeann] A cutting edge piece of technology could be pushing this small town into the future, helping redefine this community for generations to come.

(peaceful music continues) - [Mayor Thek] I think there's been a rebirth of hope in what's gonna happen here, and that's real exciting.

- [Raeann] The town has relied on fossil fuels as an economic base for more than a century, and it'll soon be home to the first of its kind advanced nuclear reactor project, built by the company TerraPower, but why Kemmerer?

- It's a very resilient community.

It don't give up very easily.

- And could this project provide a roadmap for other communities facing similar uncertainty?

I'm PBS Utah's Reeann Christensen.

Find out how Utah is innovating energy production.

This is "Utah's Power Pivot."

Situated in southwestern Wyoming, the small town of Kemmerer has certainly seen some tough times lately.

The Naughton coal-fired power plant has provided stable jobs in the area for more than 60 years, but that stability has been in question ever since the town learned the plant would close in 2025.

If there wasn't something here, 'cause a lot of people do work at the coal plant.

- Mm-hmm, yeah, there's some.

- The town might disappear.

- It would change drastically, no doubt.

- [Raeann] The news TerraPower is coming to town has replaced some of that uncertainty with cautious optimism.

The nuclear energy startup was founded by none other than Bill Gates.

If the power plant in this little Wyoming town proves successful, they plan to build these innovative reactors all across America, an idea that could revolutionize nuclear power in the US.

(vehicle whooshing) Tell me where we are at right now.

- So we are right off of 189, just south of Kemmerer, and we are about four miles from the Naughton coal plant that's just to our south.

This was kind of an ideal place to put a nuclear plant to replace a coal plant that is already scheduled for shutdown.

- [Raeann] Kemmerer's history as a fossil fuel hub actually makes this the perfect spot for TerraPower's first nuclear plant.

For starters, they've also got the needed infrastructure here from the coal facility, transmission lines, access to water, all that good stuff.

Tara Neider, who's directing the project for TerraPower, says those are just some of the big reasons for choosing Kemmerer.

- [Tara] We looked at multiple locations within Wyoming that PacifiCorp had retiring coal plants, but Kemmerer was the most welcoming.

- But it's not just about infrastructure and location.

The spirit of the people here and the community's resilience also play a part.

Why was that important to you to advocate for the community, knowing that the coal plant was shutting down, why was it so important to advocate for that?

- Because it is my community.

It's me, I've lived here most of my life.

I thought not only was it an opportunity to try to capitalize on something else that was gonna keep the town alive, but prosper into the future.

- And I think we impressed them that, the slogan that I used is we want you and we need you, and using the song, of course, "I want you to want me, I need you to need me."

- [Raeann] The TerraPower facility uses an advanced technology known as a natrium nuclear reactor that uses liquid sodium to transfer heat, which will then generate electricity.

(record scratching) What?

Are you confused by that description as I was at first?

We're gonna break it down a little more.

Here's how it works.

Nuclear reactions produce intense heat, which warms the liquid sodium.

This hot sodium heats water, converting it to steam.

The steam then drives turbines, creating electricity.

Natrium can store excess heat by using steam to heat a special molten salt.

This technology is different from older nuclear plants because instead of water, it's using liquid sodium to cool things down.

Sodium's fantastic at moving heat around without all the high pressure, which means we're avoiding those scary leaks or explosion worries.

- This is not Chernobyl, it's not Fukushima, it's not Three Mile Island.

This is a whole new technology, and I was convinced, with what we learned about it, that it's going to be safe.

- [Raeann] Because the natrium nuclear reactor has an energy storage capability that's built right in, this next-gen plant can provide steady, reliable base load power around the clock, just like the coal plants used to do.

That means there's electricity available every time you flip a switch or plug something in.

But the difference, this plant won't put any additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

- One of the great things about nuclear fuel is a pellet about this size is like the equivalent of multiple trucks of coal, so it's huge, right?

So it's got a lot of energy in a little amount of fuel.

- [Raeann] And while people in Kemmerer need access to reliable power just like the rest of us, the best part for them is a boost to the local economy in the form of reliable jobs.

- Our test facility will be about 40 permanent jobs, and the reactor itself will be about 250 permanent jobs.

We do anticipate utilizing whoever wants to from the coal plant to join this as well.

- We were prepared to be in this position because we already had started losing jobs.

- With the coal plant shutting down, do you think there's gonna be enough jobs with the nuclear plant?

- Yes.

- To sustain the community?

- We've had a lot of discussions with that with TerraPower.

There's already process going on with Western Wyoming College and the university involved in that, and a training center to retrain the people that wanna stay here.

- [Raeann] TerraPower plans on firing up its natrium reactor in 2030, bringing a brighter future to both Kemmerer, and potentially other rural communities also dealing with the decline of coal.

- So many cities and towns across the country and around the world are so interested in a little bitty place like ours.

- We do believe there's a huge amount of need for these reactors.

I think we'll have a lot of customers wanting these plants.

- It means everything to this community to keep it going for my kids, my grandkids, my great grandkids, and on and on.