I think the real story here is that the project was successfully sold to the people of Wyoming, who now appear to be shouldering the responsibility of decarbonization.
I am in Wyoming. I think it makes sense to the people here. The state is going green and the mines are shutting down. A suitable replacement needs to be created first before all the mines are decommissioned. Some of the people will be employed by the nuclear plant and some will have to move or retire. The person I know at the mine is retiring soon. As this state provides a lot of power to the US power grid currently with coal [1] I think it makes sense to transition as much of it as possible to nuclear and renewables. The state is not limiting itself to one source, all options are on the table and more options are being added soon. We do not show up as a big number for wind and solar power because it is only augmenting some power for some of the small towns and not the US grid yet [2].
"Tallen said he’s not ideologically opposed to nuclear power. He said he rubbed elbows with that crowd years ago, but it’s not where he stands today.
“The distrust of nuclear power is one of the major ideological tenets of left-wing, anti-establishment politics,” Tallen said. “I had to say to them, I can’t agree with you on many of your basic assumptions. I’m just saying that this particular [Natrium] technology pursued the way it is right now – I don’t think it’s a good idea.” "
[1] - https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=WY#tabs-3
[2] - https://www.transwestexpress.net/