Education, not confrontation — Dozens voice concerns on nuclear microreactors plan for Bar Nunn

CASPER — A handful of Wyoming legislators, Radiant Nuclear representatives, council members of local towns and more than five dozen residents attended a town hall-style gathering to learn more about a proposed nuclear manufacturing facility north of Bar Nunn.

The meeting was the second one hosted by Rep. Bill Allemand, R-Midwest, at the Hangar Bar and Grill in Bar Nunn.

California-based Radiant, the company seeking to build nuclear microreactors roughly the size of shipping containers just north of Bar Nunn, has also been hosting monthly town halls in town.

Reps. Jayme Lien, R-Casper, and Chris Knapp, R-Gillette, spoke along with retired federal agent and security consultant Bill Tallen, Casper resident Garvin Durrant and Bar Nunn resident Mike Newquist.

“I’m trying to bring in — not confrontation. I’m trying to bring in education,” Allemand said.

He noted that input from residents will guide the work that goes on in the legislature.

“Your input guides my work in Cheyenne. I am also collaborating with local leaders, granters, experts, to help ensure Bar Nunn and Natrona County aren’t left to face these challenges alone. The Radiant issue will test our resolve to protect Wyoming, its community, prosperity and independence. My commitment to you is unwavering,” Allemand said.

Knapp praised Allemand for hosting nuclear town halls and highlighted the importance of learning about issues.

“I love the fact that Bill has done this because it gives people the opportunity to learn, to talk amongst yourselves, to decide, and then to act,” he said. “I guarantee every legislator and every senator across Wyoming are going to somehow listen to constituents that demand something to happen or not to happen.”

Radiant’s plans

Radiant plans to build a 200,000- to 250,000-square-foot manufacturing space and a 30,000-square-foot facility for fueling and refueling — which could be a boon for the Casper area economy by creating 250 direct jobs at Radiant Nuclear within five years with additional jobs for construction and suppliers; an increased property and sales tax base for local public entities; and significant improvements to regional infrastructure.

The company plans to buy some 130 acres of land this summer, said Matt Wilson, Radiant’s director of operations during a May town hall in Bar Nunn.

The technology has not been tested yet and the microreactors would use TRISO fuel — small ceramic coated uranium pellets — to power the microreactors. The first test of the microreactor is scheduled for 2026 in Idaho.

“We’ve tested non-nuclear versions, and the technology that we’re using has been tested,” Makai Cartman, Radiant’s senior operations manager, said Thursday evening. “But before we start moving any dirt on the site that’s north of Bar Nunn, we will have tested at the Idaho National Lab.”

No company makes the pellets at market scale, but Radiant has an agreement to use Wyoming uranium in its reactors.

The microreactors would be sent to locations where the power is needed so no nuclear power will be made at the facility.

However, Radiant is seeking to store the spent nuclear fuel in the same location where the microreactors are manufactured — which would require changes to Wyoming law.

Current state law dictates that spent nuclear fuel can only be stored at an operating reactor location, but since Radiant is seeking to manufacture reactors — not operate them — it is seeking a word change to allow for manufacturers to store spent nuclear fuel.

The spent nuclear fuel would likely be stored in dry casks above ground but the earliest that spent fuel would need to be stored is in 2033.

Nuclear concerns

During the Q&A session following each speaker, Natrona County residents raised concerns about nuclear waste storage, transportation, and whether there was a risk for contamination of the area surrounding Radiant’s factory and waste storage sites.

“Why do they always pick a facility in the largest populated areas? If you were going to have a storage facility, wouldn’t you get it away from people? I mean, everyone here is thinking the same thing,” a town hall attendee said.

Toward the beginning of the meeting, Lien told the more than 60 people in attendance about different types of nuclear reactors. She said there are many types of nuclear waste around us.

“Medical nuclear waste is in every community that offers chemotherapy. I don’t know how many people are aware of that. We also permit our wire line trucks, they carry some of the explosives with nuclear waste as well,” she said. “I want people to understand that there is nuclear waste around us — that we also have uranium around us.” 

Tallen, who formerly trained federal agents tasked with secure transportation of special nuclear materials, said Radiant’s reactors are both considered oversized and overweight loads under various Wyoming state statutes. This, combined with the hazardous waste carried by trucks, presents a potential security risk.

Residents throughout the night voiced their concerns with storing spent nuclear fuel north of Bar Nunn.

“If I have poison, which is poison, I don’t want it in my backyard,” a town hall attendee said. “She [Lien] said there’s no repository in the United States. Why is there no depository? Because no one wants poison. You think any of us want poison tonight?”

A wide range of numbers and estimates as well as conflicting information, often citing studies without providing the names, were thrown out throughout the course of the night.

What’s next

The Legislative Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee is set to meet in Casper’s Thyra Thomson State Office Building on July 29 and July 30.

On Thursday evening, Knapp said the committee that he sits on will hear from experts, other states and more to help the legislature make informed decisions on storing spent nuclear fuel in the Equality State.

“So I’m all for mining uranium in Wyoming — that gives us tax revenue to the resources that we have. We can even do manufacturing in Wyoming, … but when it comes to waste, that’s where I’d rather, at least in the committee, have enough people come to us as experts to fully educate us,” Knapp said.

“If you just hear from the car sales (representatives), chances are you’re going to leave with a car. But there’s CARFAX, and that’s what we want to get shown in committee,” he added.

Allemand said he would host another town hall on July 22, and Radiant is set to host town halls on July 14 and Aug. 12.

This story was published on June 28, 2025.