Wyoming
Wyoming Broadband Manager Doesn’t Expect to Fund Much Fiber
Elaina Zempel, manager of the Wyoming broadband office, laments that the office didn’t have more funds to distribute in its recent Capital Projects Fund (CPF) program, which awarded funding to network operators to cover some of the costs of deploying broadband to 15,000 unserved and underserved locations.
The $70.5 million in federal funds that the office had available to award was only 22% of the total amount of funding that network operators applied for.
Fortunately, NTIA allocated $347.9 million in rural broadband funding to Wyoming for the BEAD rural broadband funding program, so there is still an opportunity to fund many of the failed requests from Wyoming’s CPF round of funding.
The CPF allocations were for fiber projects, but Zempel expects the BEAD funding to skew more toward less costly technologies. Industry experts estimate that Wyoming will be one of the states that will deploy the least per-capita fiber in the BEAD program. Only 30% of unserved and underserved locations will get fiber, according to an analysis from Cartesian and ACA Connects.
According to Zempel, the state’s BEAD allocation is roughly a third of what would be required to get fiber to everyone.
“We are grateful for the investment but there isn’t enough money to deliver the program’s stated goal of broadband for all” with fiber, Zempel said.
Wyoming’s situation arises, in part, because the state is the most sparsely populated in the U.S., with less than six people per square mile.
“Urban centers in Wyoming aren’t even urban centers – is 500 people urban?” said Zempel.
The biggest problem, she said, “is that our population density doesn’t make the investment worth it, companies can’t get the cash flow to work. Businesses are for-profit entities, and we need to respect that.”
Alternative Technologies
Fixed wireless will be a tool used to reach remote locations, but in some areas, there may not even be a business case for fixed wireless, Zempel explained.
“Fixed wireless won’t be the answer alone as it doesn’t go around a mountain, go through trees, or climb a cliff – we have a lot of natural barriers making satellite the only option for many areas,” she said. “Our plan will need to lean on other technologies including fixed wireless and satellite, but what does that mean? Do we buy people a dish? We are still figuring this out.”
Zempel herself relies on a satellite connection for her home, where she reports receiving slightly better that 100 Mbps. But performance is highly weather dependent.
People Skills
Zempel is the third person to head up Wyoming’s broadband office, which was established by the state legislature in 2018 as part of the Economically Needed Diversity Options for Wyoming (ENDOW) program. The broadband office is housed in the Wyoming Business Council (WBC) and overseen by the Wyoming Business Council Board of Directors, which includes Governor Mark Gordon.
Zempel, who has a long history serving in economic development, is the only person in Wyoming’s broadband office. Nevertheless, the position requires strong people skills, she said.
She jokes that she sometimes needs to get everyone looking forward instead of airing grievances from past disappointments, “It’s like a marriage, you have to move on… you can’t bring up what happened in 1985… it’s not productive.”
Looking Forward
In preparation for BEAD, Zempel encourages applicants to actually read the grant guidelines, five-year plan, etc. from the broadband office before applying.
She says selecting CPF recipients in Wyoming was simple in that “applicants that paid attention and read what received points did very well, those who didn’t seem to read the grant guidelines didn’t receive funding. I would encourage entities that want BEAD funding to read what receives points. The object is to reach as many people as we can.”
As the Wyoming office gets ready for the application process, Zempel is running a ‘prequalification round’ to make sure that all the pass/fail requirements for compliance are taken care of ahead of time.
“We can’t take in applications until the challenge process is done, but we can . . . prequalify,” she said. “We learned in CPF that we absolutely need prequalification so that people can be ready to go.”
Zempel said this will tighten up the contract process and get construction underway faster in 2025. Project areas in Wyoming are being defined by grouping census blocks.
The latest count of Wyoming’s unserved population is 29K and its underserved number is 18K. Zempel does point out, though, that many people literally come to Wyoming to disconnect, so universal access should be measured differently here.
“The goal of ‘broadband for all,’ for us, that will be hard,” said Zempel. “We need to respect the wishes of folks who want to unplug and realize ‘universal’ in Wyoming might be closer to 95 than 100%.”
Mostly sunny in much of Wyoming on Sunday with a chance of rain in some areas. Partly cloudy overnight. Highs in the 60s and low 70s. Lows in the 30s and low 40s.
Central:
Casper: Slight chance of rain, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 72 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of rain before 11 p.m., a low near 42 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.
Riverton: Sunny and breezy today with a high near 73 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 41 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph.
Jeffrey City: Mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 69 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph. Partly cloudy and breezy overnight with a low near 38 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph.
Southwest:
Evanston: Mostly sunny today with a high near 66 and mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 38.
Green River: Mostly sunny today with a high near 71 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 41 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.
Kemmerer: Mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 66 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph. Mostly cloudy and breezy overnight with a low near 37 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph.
Western Wyoming:
Pinedale: Mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 64 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 32 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.
Alpine: Mostly sunny today with a high near 69 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 38.
Big Piney: Mostly sunny today with a high near 66 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph. Partly cloudy and blustery overnight with a low near 29 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph.
Northwest:
Dubois: Mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 61 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 37 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.
Jackson: Sunny today with a high near 68 and mostly clear overnight with a slight chance of rain before 11 p.m. and a low near 37.
Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park: Slight chance of rain after 3 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 59 and partly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of rain before 7 p.m. and a low near 31.
Bighorn Basin:
Thermopolis: Slight chance of rain after 3 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 73 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 41.
Cody: Chance of rain mainly after 4 p.m., otherwise partly sunny and breezy today with a high near 69 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 42.
Lovell: Slight chance of rain after 3 p.m., gradually becoming sunny today with a high near 73 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 41.
North Central:
Buffalo: Chance of rain mainly after 1 p.m., otherwise partly sunny today with a high near 65 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 43.
Sheridan: Slight chance of rain, gradually becoming sunny today with a high near 70 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 40.
Dayton: Chance of rain mainly after 2 p.m., otherwise partly sunny today with a high near 69 and partly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of rain and a low near 41.
Northeast:
Gillette: Slight chance of rain, gradually becoming sunny today with a high near 68 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 41 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.
Newcastle: Chance of rain mainly after noon, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 68 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 42 and wind gusts as high as 18 mph.
Hulett: Chance of rain mainly before noon, gradually clearing today with a high near 70 and wind gusts as high as 17 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 41 and wind gusts as high as 16 mph.
Eastern Plains:
Torrington: Slight chance of rain after 4 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 74 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 39.
Douglas: Slight chance of rain, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 72 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 38.
Midwest: Slight chance of rain, otherwise mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 71 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 39 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph.
Southeast:
Cheyenne: Slight chance of rain after noon, increasing clouds today with a high near 69 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 41.
Laramie: Chance of slight rain after noon, increasing clouds today with a high near 64 and mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 38.
Chugwater: Slight chance of rain after 2 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 69 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 43.
South Central:
Rawlins: Mostly sunny today with a high near 66 and mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 43.
Saratoga: Mostly sunny today with a high near 67 and mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 39.
Wamsutter: Mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 66 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 39 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.
Terra Power CEO Chris Levesque joined the Bill Gates-backed firm after years working in the legacy nuclear power industry which he says was slow to innovate.
Kirk Siegler/NPR
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Kemmerer, WYO — The infamous Wyoming wind is whipping an American flag hoisted above the construction site of what’s only the fourth nuclear reactor to be built in the U.S. this century, and one of the first in a new generation of advanced designs.
“We’re building an advanced nuclear plant but so many aspects of the plant and of the business are the same as the sixty-year-old coal plant that’s down the road,” says Chris Levesque, Terra Power’s CEO, as he gestures to the west where the old Naughton plant stands.
The Washington state-based Terra Power, founded by Bill Gates, says this will be the first of many, part of a new nuclear renaissance they want to bring to long time energy exporting states like Wyoming. Levesque says the company’s “advanced reactor” technology makes nuclear plants safer and quicker to build.
“There is an energy crisis, it’s concerning,” Levesque says.
The recent beginning of construction here comes amid forecasts that an artificial intelligence boom means that data centers in the U.S. are going to need about 130% more energy by 2030. That’s according to the International Energy Agency.
To help meet that demand, Big tech companies and the federal government are partnering to invest billions of dollars in new nuclear power plants.
Nuclear boosters think its NIMBYism problem is in the past
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission gave Terra Power final approval to begin construction in March. This capped five years of studies and safety demonstrations and a decision to site the plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming which won bids over numerous other western towns.
“There is a whole different story to begin with, is communities vying for a nuclear power plant,” Levesque says. “The old story on nuclear was more of a ‘not in my backyard thing.’”
Levesque, who came to Terra Power after a career in the legacy nuclear industry, thinks new technologies and demand for low emission power is changing this. Almost everything here will be buried underground and they’ll use liquid sodium metal instead of water to cool the reactor.
“Milestones like this really show people that, yeah, this is a new technology but we’re doing it,” he says. “It’s real and people can start to work this into their plans.”
If all goes to plan and the plant is online by 2031, Terra Power says it will make enough electricity for a utility to power almost half a million homes – likely in nearby Salt Lake City. The company has also inked agreements with META for several more reactors to power the tech company’s data centers specifically.
“Since we were selected by the Department of Energy, we’ve had a project going for five years that’s switched administrations, switched parties, switched multiple controls of Congress,” Levesque says.
Rocky Mountain states join the race to win DOE nuclear hubs
A recent press release from the company marking the beginning of full-scale construction in Kemmerer included quotes praising the project from Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon and the state’s entire congressional delegation.
The Department of Energy pilot program that spurred Terra Power’s first project began during the first Trump administration. Then, the Biden-administration’s Infrastructure Law fronted half of the costs of construction, about two billion dollars.
Wyoming’s Republican Senators voted against that bill. But the state is eagerly courting nuclear energy plants and new uranium mines. So is neighboring Idaho, home to a federal nuclear lab, and Utah, where Governor Spencer Cox recently staged a press conference in the barren scrubland west of Salt Lake City.
“If you are serious about energy abundance, you have to be serious about nuclear energy,” Cox said, as he went on to unveil Utah’s application to be one of the U.S. Department of Energy’s new nuclear hubs.
It’s billed as a “nuclear life cycle innovation campus” where they’d enrich nuclear fuel, recycle it and store its waste, including one day possibly that generated by the Kemmerer plant.
Cox noted that nuclear already supplies roughly a fifth of all the electricity on the U.S. grid.
“This should not be controversial,” the Republican says. “America built the nuclear industry.”
Some environmentalists question how green nuclear is
But nuclear still is controversial, especially in the West with its legacy of abandoned uranium mines and radioactive waste particularly in Indian Country. And Salt Lake City was downwind from Cold War Era nuclear weapons test sites.
“This area has been considered a sacrifice zone for a long time,” says Lexi Tuddenham, executive director of Healthy Environment Alliance Utah, or HEAL.
Skeptical about a nuclear renaissance, Lexi Tuddenham, executive director of Health Environment Alliance for Utah, is concerned about her state’s proposal to store nuclear waste near the Great Salt Lake.
Kirk Siegler/NPR
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Tuddenham is alarmed that Utah wants to site its proposed nuclear hub some ten miles from the western shore of the drying Great Salt Lake. She says nuclear is being rebranded as green but that ignores the ongoing problem of where to store its radioactive waste.
“Bill Gates is paying for this first one, we as taxpayers are also paying for this first one, I will say,” Tuddenham says. “But what about the next one and the next one? How much are we going to be on the hook for as taxpayers, as rate payers, as we go down this path?”
Terra Power says like conventional nuclear reactors, its plant in Wyoming will store its spent fuel on site until a permanent repository is approved by the feds. They say it’s safe and the “advanced nuclear” tech produces less waste than legacy plants.
An old coal town is eager for a nuclear rebirth
In Wyoming, the country’s top coal producing state, one thing that’s not in dispute is that Kemmerer is eager for any sort of energy boom. When the West Coast divested from coal, national headlines all but wrote off this town of 3,000 as dying.
“That’s what we were concerned about is no longer being an exporter of power, cause that’s a majority of our jobs,” says Brian Muir, city administrator in Kemmerer.
Kemmerer, Wyoming city administrator Brian Muir was hired by the city in 2019 to help find new economic opportunities when at that time the coal mine had gone bankrupt and the nearby coal power plant was slated to be decommissioned.
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Kirk Siegler/NPR
But today he says there’s relief and optimism around town. Hundreds of skilled jobs are being created. Due to the high demand for electricity, the old coal plant isn’t completely shutting either. Some of its generators are being converted to natural gas which will preserve about 100 existing jobs.
“I’ll just say, when Bill Gates came here, he talked about our high energy IQ,” Muir says. “We know about all forms of energy and the benefits and the costs and the risks and the footprints and all of that, we understand that.”
Muir says Kemmerer is already lobbying Terra Power to build a second nuclear plant here.
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