On AI, Nuclear Energy, Data Centers and more

• Last week, Constellation Energy said it signed “a 20-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft that will restart Three Mile Island Unit 1 ...  as part of its goal to help power its data centers ... with carbon-free energy."

• Joe Dominguez, president and CEO, Constellation said “Powering industries critical to our nation’s global economic and technological competitiveness, including data centers, requires an abundance of energy that is carbon-free and reliable every hour of every day, and nuclear plants are the only energy sources that can consistently deliver on that promise."

• Bobby Hollis, VP of Energy, Microsoft said "This agreement is a major milestone in Microsoft's efforts to help decarbonize the grid in support of our commitment to become carbon negative." 

• Notes: Power could be online by 2028 but will require U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval.

• Separately, a Goldman Sacks report said “On average, a ChatGPT query needs nearly 10 times as much electricity to process as a Google search. 

•  "as the AI revolution gathers steam ...  data center power demand will grow 160% by 2030."

OUR TAKE

• Other major players like Amazon and Google are exploring nuclear power options which could include small modular reactors (SMRs) from firms such as NuScale Power, Oklo, Rolls-Royce, Westinghouse Electric, Moltex Energy, Terrestrial Energy, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy and X-energy.

• These efforts will encounter concerns about radioactive waste disposal, potential accidents and high start-up costs

• If successful, these efforts can demonstrate that nuclear energy is a source of a reliable, high-capacity, and low-carbon electricity delivered with minimal greenhouse gas emissions.