Artificial Intelligence (AI) requires a tremendous amount of digital storage capacity, and these large installations require prodigious amounts of reliable electrical power.
In September 2024, Constellation (Nasdaq: CEG) announced the signing of a 20-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft that will pave the way for the launch of the Crane Clean Energy Center (CCEC) and restart of Three Mile Island Unit 1, This will add approximately 835 megawatts of carbon-free energy to the grid; create 3,400 direct and indirect jobs and deliver more than $3 billion in state and federal taxes/Under the agreement, Microsoft will purchase energy from the renewed plant as part of its goal to help match the power its data centers in PJM use with carbon-free energy.
Almost simultaneously in October 2024, Google and Amazon announced their plans for nuclear power to support their computer capacity needs. Google has agreed to purchase energy from small modular reactors under a deal that will support the first commercial deployment of Kairos Power's reactor by 2030 and a fleet totaling 500 MW of capacity by 2035, and Amazon has announced it has taken a stake in advanced nuclear reactor developer X-energy, with the goal of deploying up to 5 GW of its small modular reactors in the US by 2039.
While recognizing that solar panel or wind energy can provide some low-cost electricity, all three companies understand the need for reliable and stable long-term green energy 24x7, something that neither solar nor wind energy can deliver.
Microsoft AI is Going Nuclear Powered
Alongside new innovations from Microsoft, including the rollout of Copilot this year, nuclear reactors powering data centers and AI innovations are also on their to-do list. Since late 2023, Microsoft has been gearing up a nuclear energy strategy to provide a clean power source to some of the world’s most used technologies. With the job listing already on the market for a nuclear energy strategist, the next generation of power is moving into the tech sector.(15 Feb 2024)
The Three Mile Island Unit 1 reactor is located adjacent to TMI Unit 2, which shut down in 1979 and is in the process of being decommissioned by its owner, Energy Solutions. TMI Unit 1 is a fully independent facility, and its long-term operation was not impacted by the Unit 2 accident. To prepare for the restart, significant investments will be made to restore the plant, including the turbine, generator, main power transformer and cooling and control systems. Restarting a nuclear reactor requires U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval following a comprehensive safety and environmental review, as well as permits from relevant state and local agencies. Additionally, through a separate request, Constellation will pursue license renewal that will extend plant operations to at least 2054. The CCEC is expected to be online in 2028.(Source: Constellation Energy 20 Sept 2024)
Google and Kairos Power team up for SMR deployments
Kairos has adopted a rapid iterative development approach and vertical integration strategy to bring its fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor technology to market. Site work and excavation for a low-power demonstration reactor version, Hermes, began at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, earlier this year after the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a construction permit in 2023, targeted to be operational by 2027. The NRC has also completed the final environmental assessment for the construction of the next iteration - the two-unit power-producing Hermes 2 plant - which is also planned to be built at Oak Ridge.(Source: WNN 15 Oct 2024)
The Xe-100 is a Generation IV advanced reactor design which X-energy says is based on decades of high temperature gas-cooled reactor operation, research, and development. Designed to operate as a standard 320 MWe four-pack power plant or scaled in units of 80 MWe. At 200 MWt of 565°C steam, the Xe-100 is also suitable for other power applications including mining and heavy industry. The Xe-100 uses tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) particle fuel, which has additional safety benefits because it can withstand very high temperatures without melting, The initial Xe-100 plant is being developed at Dow Inc's UCC Seadrift Operations site on the Texas Gulf Coast, which would be the first nuclear reactor deployed to serve an industrial site in the USA.(Source: WNN 16 Oct 2024)
Advanced Nuclear Reactors Closest to Employment
The first "Advanced Reactors" to be deployed will likely be Small Modular Reactors (SMR) that utilize water cooling, essentially smaller versions of current rector designs that use pressurized water.. More advanced designs will utilize research-proven technology that use molten metals or salts and operate at atmospheric pressures, leading to safer operations. This article provides some details on the various programs underway.
One disadvantage of most current nuclear technology installations is that only about 1% of the nuclear fuel is utilized. Although the amount of waste generated is still much smaller than that from non-nuclear power sources, the more advanced designs will be able to utilize up to 90% of the fuel, and in some cases can use the radioactive waste from the older designs.
The need for nuclear power is becoming more and more recognized. Solar and wind, the only other green energy sources other than hydroelectric, cannot be used in most instances without some form of baseline power, due to their intermittancy. It says something when big companies such as these three turn to nuclear plants for their energy needs.