Helion Energy has reached a major milestone in its quest to build the world’s first commercial fusion power plant. The company secured a Conditional Use Permit from Chelan County, officially allowing construction of the primary fusion generator building at its Orion facility in Malaga, Central Washington.
.jpg)
The site, located near the Columbia River, broke ground in July 2025 and is designed to produce 50 megawatts of clean electricity by replicating the same fusion reactions that power the sun and stars. The latest approval follows a public notice and comment period, as well as multiple environmental evaluations.
The Orion facility is being constructed on land leased from the Chelan County Public Utilities District, and the company says it is now prepared to move into full-scale building operations.
“As a company of builders with a single-minded focus on making electricity from fusion commercially practical, we couldn’t be more excited to move into this next phase of construction for the Orion power plant,” said Helion CEO David Kirtley.
The project previously cleared Washington’s State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) review with a Mitigated Determination of Non-Significance, meaning no major environmental obstacles were identified.
Local leaders welcomed the advancement, noting fusion energy’s potential to cement Central Washington’s reputation as a clean energy hub.
“Central Washington is known as the Buckle of the Power Belt for its foresight decades ago of bringing hydropower to the state,” said Chelan County Commissioner Kevin Overbay. “To be the home of fusion energy would enhance the legacy of our area as a continued leader in clean energy production.”
.jpg)
While construction progresses in Malaga, Helion’s engineering teams in Everett, Washington are continuing to develop the fusion technology required to generate continuous power — a challenge no company has yet solved commercially.
Helion has spent over 12 years building prototypes and has raised more than $1 billion from investors. It already has a purchase agreement with Microsoft, which plans to use Orion’s electricity to power local data centers if the plant succeeds.
Meanwhile, momentum for fusion innovation is growing across the industry. In a separate announcement, Google DeepMind revealed a new partnership with Commonwealth Fusion Systems to apply AI toward accelerating fusion control systems.
If successful, Orion could mark a defining moment in global energy history — shifting fusion from experimental science to commercial reality. Supporters say it could pave the way for near-limitless zero-carbon electricity without long-term radioactive waste.
Construction on Orion is expected to continue through the coming years, with Helion signaling that its goal is not just to build a facility, but to prove that fusion can finally power the grid.
Originally reported by Lisa Stiffler in Geekwire
.webp)
