Silicon Valley Is Funding a Nuclear Renaissance
Summary
Tech companies in the U.S. are increasingly turning to nuclear power to meet the high and growing demand for electricity by data centers, especially as artificial intelligence (AI) usage rises. The government supports the development of smaller, faster-to-build nuclear reactors, and several major tech firms have made deals to use nuclear energy, although some large projects face delays and local opposition.Key Facts
- U.S. data centers used 183 terawatt-hours of electricity last year, more than the entire state of Ohio.
- Electricity demand for data centers grows 15 to 20 percent annually due to increased AI activity.
- Tech giants like Microsoft, OpenAI, Meta, Google, and Amazon are making deals to use nuclear energy to power data centers.
- The U.S. Department of Energy is funding small modular reactors (SMRs), which are smaller and cheaper nuclear plants.
- Microsoft is investing over $1.5 billion to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania.
- Meta signed a 20-year agreement to buy power from a nuclear energy provider.
- Amazon is investing $500 million and partnering with energy companies to build SMRs near its data centers.
- Some large projects, like Wonder Valley data centers in Alberta and Utah, face permit issues and local resistance.
- New nuclear plants usually take many years to start and cost much more than initially planned.
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