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Can Nuclear Power Save A Struggling Coal Town? : Short Wave A struggling Wyoming coal town may soon go nuclear with help from an unlikely partner, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates. NPR Correspondent Kirk Siegler takes us to Kemmerer, Wyo., where Gates' power company, supported by public funds, plans to open a new type of nuclear energy plant in hopes of replacing a closing coal plant. The model facility would create jobs and provide the flexible baseline energy needed to back up solar, wind and other renewables. But is it a good fit for rural Kemmerer?

Short Wave

Can Nuclear Power Save A Struggling Coal Town?

Can Nuclear Power Save A Struggling Coal Town?

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The Naughton Coal Plant west of Kemmerer, Wyoming is shutting down in 2025. Kirk Siegler/NPR hide caption

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Kirk Siegler/NPR

The Naughton Coal Plant west of Kemmerer, Wyoming is shutting down in 2025.

Kirk Siegler/NPR

A struggling Wyoming coal town may soon go nuclear with help from an unlikely partner, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates. NPR Correspondent Kirk Siegler takes us to Kemmerer, Wyo., where Gates' power company, supported by public funds, plans to open a new type of nuclear energy plant in hopes of replacing a closing coal plant. The model facility would create jobs and provide the flexible baseline energy needed to back up solar, wind and other renewables. But is it a good fit for rural Kemmerer?

This episode was produced by Berly McCoy, edited by Stephanie O'Neill and fact checked by Katherine Sypher. The audio engineer was Patrick Murray.