Radiant Nuclear Picks Tennessee Over Wyoming To Build Nuclear Microreactor Facility

Radiant Nuclear announced Monday afternoon that it will build its first nuclear microreactor manufacturing facility in Tennessee, abandoning plans for the controversial project near Bar Nunn, after months of heated debate over spent nuclear fuel storage.

 David Madison | October 14, 2025 | 6 min read

After months of debate and amid regulatory uncertainty in Wyoming, Radiant Nuclear announced Monday that it’s ditching its controversial plan to build nuclear microreactors and store spent fuel in Natrona County. (CSD File)

Editor's note: This story has been updated to add more reaction to Monday's announcement by Radiant Nuclear.

Radiant Nuclear announced Monday afternoon that it will build its first nuclear microreactor manufacturing facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, abandoning plans for a controversial project near Bar Nunn, after months of heated debate over spent nuclear fuel storage.

The decision comes after Radiant repeatedly warned Wyoming officials that regulatory uncertainty could drive the company elsewhere.

Radiant announced Monday it will build a factory on portions of the historic K-27 and K-29 Manhattan Project sites, with construction beginning in early 2026. The company plans to deliver its first mass-produced semitrailer-sized Kaleidos microreactor by 2028 and scale up to producing 50 reactors annually within a few years.

"We choose Oak Ridge, Tennessee, because of their strong workforce, the community's rich nuclear heritage and the public's second-to-none nuclear IQ," said Tori Shivanandan, Radiant's chief operating officer. "Just as importantly, the state's business-friendly environment gave us the immediate regulatory certainty we needed to move fast."

State Sen. Ed Cooper, R-Ten Sleep, told Cowboy State Daily that members of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus need to answer for their role in driving away the project.

"This is disappointing for Wyoming's economic future," Cooper said, adding that vocal opposition from certain legislators erased years of economic development work aimed at bringing high-paying manufacturing jobs to the state.

Freedom Caucus Responds

Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, chairman of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, responded to Cooper's charge and told Cowboy State Daily the Freedom Caucus "draws the line at out-of-state waste storage."

She said the group is standing up to California billionaires who "insist on saddling our landscapes with their windmills, their solar panels and now their radioactive waste."

Ray Wert, Radiant's vice president of communications and marketing, said the contrast between Wyoming and Tennessee is stark. 

The company faced "zero opposition" in Tennessee, he said, while in Wyoming it was criticized by a few loud voices of opposition in Bar Nunn and among a group of legislators. 

"Oak Ridge's nuclear IQ is absolutely second to none," Wert said. "They were the first community in the United States to enrich uranium. They're not afraid of it. They understand it."

Bar Nunn Mayor Peter Boyer said he doesn't expect another opportunity like this to appear on the horizon.

"I don't see any other $200 or $300 million companies banging down the door to come here to Bar Nunn," Boyer said. "I think a lot of businesses would be really reluctant to come to Bar Nunn after seeing what happened with Radiant."

Boyer said the whole debate raises big questions about state legislators using their influence over local issues, saying legislators were "way out of line" in interfering with local politics.

Justin Farley, CEO of Advance Casper, said it now remains unclear how Wyoming will participate in the current "nuclear Renaissance."

"I mean, it's happening," said Farley, who worried about other nuclear tech companies like BWXT in Gillette, which "is already getting heat from that same group," he said, referring to the Wyoming Freedom Caucus.

The decision by Radiant to drop Wyoming as a potential manufacturing site comes after months of consideration, company officials say.

"We are absolutely looking at our second and third choices,” said Radiant's Wert in a June interview with Cowboy State Daily. "We're hopeful that Wyoming is going to be the right location for us. But it's all dependent on whether or not the state is interested in having us.”

Regulatory Roadblock

In a letter to the editor sent to Cowboy State Daily on Monday, Radiant Senior Director of Operations Matt Wilson explained the company had spent months in "open dialogue" with Wyoming officials about building the factory in Natrona County near Bar Nunn.

"Recent commercial wins, our growing work with the U.S. military, and the speed at which Radiant is moving towards successfully turning on our first reactor next year, all demanded a turnkey location where we could be quickly up and running to meet customer demand," Wilson said. "Given that, this week we had to make a very tough decision to site our first factory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, instead of Wyoming."

Wilson said the decision ultimately came down to regulatory certainty. 

Wyoming law currently allows spent fuel storage only at operating reactor sites, not at manufacturing facilities. 

Radiant's business model requires returning reactors back from deployment for refueling and temporarily storing used fuel in above-ground containers at its factory.

"Radiant was only seeking to safely and temporarily store used fuel from Wyoming-built reactors returned from deployment," Wilson said. "Sadly, Wyoming's law currently does not accommodate that model."

The company conducted community polling and door-to-door conversations that it says showed Natrona County was supportive of the investment, Wilson said. But legislative opposition proved insurmountable.

Video: Radiant Nuclear Picks Tennessee Over Wyoming To Build Nuclear Microreactor Facility

Local Opposition

The project faced intense criticism from Bar Nunn residents and key legislators throughout 2025.

Rep. Bill Allemand, R-Midwest, delivered a scathing critique of the project at a Natrona County Commission meeting in June, telling commissioners that residents "overwhelmingly oppose it."

"The people of Bar Nunn do not want this in their backyard," Allemand told Cowboy State Daily in June. "I really like nuclear energy, but my constituents do not want it stored in their backyard. And I will do as my constituents say."

Allemand argued there was "no benefit for the state of Wyoming, for Natrona County or for Bar Nunn" and predicted the project would face an "uphill battle in the Legislature."

Mayor Boyer had supported the project, telling Cowboy State Daily he believed it would benefit the community despite acknowledging opposition.

"I think it would be a good thing for the town. I do," Boyer said in a July interview. "There are some who are for, there are some who are against, and some, they don't even know. It's kind of a lot of different camps here. I think overall it'll be a good thing for the community."

The project would have started with around 70 jobs and ramped up to more than 200 at full production, according to company officials. Natrona County commissioners had approved Radiant's application for a $25 million state grant for infrastructure despite some public opposition at hearings.

David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.