The Secret Behind the Naughton Power Plant

It’s a good bet that you haven’t heard of the Naughton power plant. 

Don’t feel too bad if you haven’t, especially if you live outside of Wyoming. 

Owned by Pacificorp, the Naughton Power Plant was first commissioned in May of 1963. Consisting of three coal-fired units, the Naughton plant wasn’t the biggest power plant in the United States, even with a capacity of around 832-megawatts. 

This was also a nightmare for anyone with an environmentally conscious mind. Of the 53 groundwater monitoring wells at the plant, every single one was polluted above federal advisory levels. 

If you drank a glass of water from this site, you would’ve consumed a host of contaminants like sulfate, lithium, cobalt, boron, radium, arsenic, lead, thallium, beryllium, cadmium, barium, chromium, and fluoride. 

Now, after 61 long years of service, the Naughton Power Plant is finally set to retire its coal units in 2025. 

But this is just the beginning of its redemption story.

The Secret Behind the Naughton Power Plant

Look, it’s no secret to anyone that the U.S. coal industry is dying. 

That’s not a hyperbole, mind you. 

Over the last fifteen years, coal companies have had to compete against both the cheap, abundant flows of natural gas that we’ve been tapping from tight shale formations, as well as the overly aggressive push toward cleaner energy. 

Cheap gas and a desire for more wind and solar was the death knell for coal from which it could never recover from. Of course, it didn’t help that it is arguably the dirtiest source of power used today. 

However, cheap gas and more renewable investment is actually the least of the coal industry’s worries — it’s age. 

Typically, coal plants last for about 50 years before they are put into retirement; that’s a problem considering the average age of our coal fleet is about 46 years. 

One other issue here most people don’t realize is that we’re talking about a good chunk of baseload power that’s getting shuttered forever, which cannot be replaced by intermittent sources like wind and solar. 

Fortunately for us, the final act of the coal industry will be one of redemption.

Coal’s Redemption Song

For all its environmental issues, the Naughton power plant holds a secret today that may come as a surprise.

It’s slated to become the world’s first coal-to-nuclear plant. Last month, Bill Gates’ TerraPower broke ground on its natrium nuclear reactor plant that’s right next to Naughton plant. 

Once completed, it will pump out 500-MW of power — enough to power nearly 400,000 homes — when it goes online in 2030. 

Up until now, we’ve only been able to talk about coal-to-nuclear plants. Now it’s becoming a reality.

Thing is, this is just the beginning for next-gen nuclear technology. It has become painstakingly clear by now that nuclear power is going to play a critical role in meeting our future power needs. 

More importantly, people are finally starting to wake up to that fact — the passage of the ADVANCE Act is a sign no investor should ignore. 

Once the floodgates are open, all bets are off.

Until next time,

Keith Kohl

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A true insider in the technology and energy markets, Keith’s research has helped everyday investors capitalize from the rapid adoption of new technology trends and energy transitions. Keith connects with hundreds of thousands of readers as the Managing Editor of Energy & Capital, as well as the investment director of Angel Publishing’s Energy Investor and Technology and Opportunity.

For nearly two decades, Keith has been providing in-depth coverage of the hottest investment trends before they go mainstream — from the shale oil and gas boom in the United States to the red-hot EV revolution currently underway. Keith and his readers have banked hundreds of winning trades on the 5G rollout and on key advancements in robotics and AI technology.

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P.S. For individual investors like us, traditional nuclear power stocks like Constellation Energy or Duke Energy are the easiest way to directly play the renewed nuclear renaissance. 

In fact, some nuclear stocks like NuScale Power Corp. — a stock that has jumped nearly 400% this year! — have posted incredible wins that have flown under the market’s radar so far. 

But my readers and I are looking for more… And we’ve found it in a small, next-gen nuclear power stock that has been working side-by-side with the Department of Energy for years developing the fuel that will power tomorrow’s reactors. 

Don’t take my word for it here. Take a minute and check this one out for yourself.