After the recent completion at Plant Vogtle of a 1,114MW nuclear reactor project by Georgia Southern, America has no nuclear projects underway. How will it power the massive new demand expected from artificial intelligence data centers and crypto mining operations? Constellation Energy is considering a solution to that problem that involves expanding the nuclear capacity at its current plants. Jennifer L. reports at CarbonCredits.com:
Amid the generative artificial intelligence (AI) gold rush, renewed discussions about longstanding power sources for data centers have emerged.
McKinsey’s recent forecast predicts a significant surge in data center power consumption in the U.S., from 17 gigawatts (GW) in 2022 to 35 GW in 2030. This growth is attributed in part to the increasing use of higher-power chips for demanding workloads such as AI.
The rise in power consumption per rack, from 10 kilowatts to over 60 kilowatts, has led to a doubling of overall campus capacity from 50 megawatts to over 100 megawatts over the past 5 years.
Notably, certain data center hubs like Ashburn in Northern Virginia have reached their power capacity limits. They are no longer able to accommodate requests for additional capacity. Market experts highlighted that power is the industry’s biggest challenge.
Data centers are notorious energy consumers, with a single hyperscaler’s data center consuming as much power as 80,000 households. This has put huge pressure on the industry to adopt sustainable practices, leading to the imposition of sustainability standards by regulators and governments on newly constructed data centers.
For investors, this presents opportunities to support data centers in securing low-carbon energy supplies. And this is where nuclear power could play a role.
Constellation Energy CEO Joseph Dominguez mentioned considering small modular reactors (SMRs) or other technologies and expressed interest in a multi-tiered structure with tech companies like Microsoft and Google to fund site development and construction.
The partnership aims to accelerate the development of various projects by developing new commercial structures. These include advanced nuclear, next-generation geothermal, clean hydrogen, and long-duration energy storage.
For investors, this presents opportunities to support data centers in securing low-carbon energy supplies. And this is where nuclear power could play a role.
Constellation Energy CEO Joseph Dominguez mentioned considering small modular reactors (SMRs) or other technologies and expressed interest in a multi-tiered structure with tech companies like Microsoft and Google to fund site development and construction.
The partnership aims to accelerate the development of various projects by developing new commercial structures. These include advanced nuclear, next-generation geothermal, clean hydrogen, and long-duration energy storage.
Action Line: Could power demand from AI lead to a nuclear renaissance? It’s possible. Nuclear power takes a long time to bring online, so the answer may not be clear for years to come. In the meantime, click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.
