After years of largely flat electricity consumption, there are growing signs that U.S.
power demand is once again starting to tick up. Rapid AI deployment, new and
larger data centers, efforts to expand domestic manufacturing, and a push toward
electrification are all major factors driving this trend.
In particular, the expansion of power-hungry data centers is placing pressure on the
tech industry to find reliable sources of power supply without spiking GHG
emissions. In response, there is a growing resurgence in interest in nuclear power,
using both old and new technologies. Recently, Microsoft and Amazon struck deals
to buy large amounts of power from legacy nuclear plant, and this October, Amazon
and Google announced plans to invest in small modular reactor (SMR) projects.
While there are not yet any operating SMRs in the U.S. and there are questions
about the feasibility of the technology from a cost perspective, the Biden
Administration has made domestic deployment of SMRs a policy priority, dedicating
nearly $1 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to accelerate deployment.
Tech companies are uniquely positioned to be a powerful partner in achieving this
policy goal. The concentrated and intense energy demands from data centers, and
tech giants’ willingness to pay above-market prices for 24/7, carbon free energy,
could be the boost the industry needs to test, de-risk, and deploy SMR nuclear
technology.
