Big Tech’s move to nuclear energy to power its data centers shows that green energies like wind and sun alone cannot meet the energy needs of our modern digital world
The US nuclear industry hailed 2022 as an inflection point with surging private investment and unprecedented government support breathing new life into a sector that fell from favor in recent decades.
New federal legislation will pump about $40 billion into the sector over the coming decade, while roughly $5 billion in private funds has flowed into companies designing new types of reactors in the past year alone. (1)
Nuclear energy offers humanity the safest, most efficient approach to harnessing natural resources for its use. As the cleanest energy source available, nuclear fuel requires the least amount of material and land for energy production.
Unlike intermittent solar and wind energy, nuclear power plants can operate virtually continuously to provide a steady source of electricity. In the United States, for example, nuclear plants have an average capacity factor of over 93 percent, compared to around 35 percent for wind power and even less for solar. (2)
America has the opportunity to turn the page on the anti-energy agenda and fully embrace a new era of nuclear power. In President Donald J. Trump’s first term, he laid the groundwork for innovation friendly policies that encourage the development of next generation nuclear technologies. Now, we have the chance to break free from the bureaucratic roadblocks of the past and usher in a golden age of nuclear energy. (3)
The Biden Administration spent hundreds of billions of dollars to push renewables, and the result was a 30% increase in national utility prices. And yet, despite producing (intermittent and expensive) electricity, no amount of wind and solar can make rubber or plastic or the millions of products we use, nor can they forge steel or produce cement. Yes, we need more electricity, but the Biden team was determined to be anti-fossil fuels in their push for more electricity
There is no imminent replacement for fossil fuels in the production of petrochemical products, but for electricity needs, America stands on the brink of a nuclear energy revolution. Advanced nuclear technology and small modular reactors (SMRs) are proving to be game changers.
Oklo, a company out of California, has signed agreements to deploy SMRs to operate data centers so America continues to lead the world on AI and not cede ground to China. We need greater electricity production for manufacturing and industrialization, for expanded housing in cities and suburbs, for commercial, farm, and residential use. The only thing standing in our way? Outdated regulations, bureaucratic inertia, and the ideological opposition of alarmists. (3)
TerraPower, founded by Bill Gates, is opening a new nuclear power plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming. The plant will be the first of its kind with the company hoping to revolutionize the nuclear industry in the US. This new reactor, which is set to open in 2030, will use liquid sodium instead of water to cool it. Sodium’s boiling point is eight times higher than water and, unlike water, sodium does not need to be continually pumped back again into the system. Gates said, “We’ve solved all the areas where there have been safety challenges. And we have dramatically less waste.” (4)
Nuclear expansion, along with President’s Trump call to reopen natural gas and clean coal plants will bring electricity costs back down to inexpensive levels after four years of disastrous Biden energy policies.
With Biden no longer in office, Germany lying less about how well solar works to its citizens, and countries in Europe going back to viable energy, the World Bank head feels some hope. President Ajay Banga stated he would like to lift their ban on funding nuclear next year. That means billions of people, from Africa to southeast Asia, could get help. Food would become more affordable, which means culture will flourish in places where existence is now hard. (5)
Google, Oracle, and Microsoft were all raving fans of renewable energy, but all of them have given up trying to reach net zero with wind and solar power. They’re all suddenly buying, building and talking about nuclear power. For some reason, when running $100 billion dollar data centers, no one seems to want to use random electricity that turns on and off when the wind or sun stops. (6)
Oracle is building the world’s largest data center and wants to power it with three small modular reactors. Amazon Web Services has bought a data center next to a nuclear plant, and is running job ads for a nuclear engineer. Recently, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai spoke about small nuclear reactors. The chief of Open AI also happens to chair the boards of two nuclear start-ups.
Big Tech’s move to nuclear energy to power its data centers shows that green energies like wind and sun alone cannot meet the energy needs of our modern digital world.
The panic following the catastrophic meltdown of the nuclear power in Chernobyl in April 1986 resulted in nearly 400 fewer nuclear power plants being built than had been projected. Fewer clean nuclear power plants led to an increased air pollution from fossil fuel fired plants. That extra air pollution killed far more people than the meltdown, by several orders of magnitude.
Using air pollution data derived from satellite observations, economists find that bringing a reactor online significantly reduces the fine particulate air pollution around the nearest cities. The economists state that construction of each additional nuclear power plant, by reducing air pollution, could save more than 800,000 life years. (7)
Calculations suggest that globally, more than 318 million expected life years have been lost in democratic countries after Chernobyl. Estimates predict the US lost 141 million life years due to the slowdown in nuclear power deployment after Chernobyl.
Two other studies present a strong case for nuclear. Air pollution would increase if all nuclear plants in the US are shut down, as coal and natural gas plants would step up to fill the gap. This would result in an additional 5,200 deaths in just one year. (8)
One research team showed how nuclear plant shutdowns could cause thousands of pollution related deaths; another found nuclear has the least environmental impact among low carbon energy sources.
The other study finds that nuclear is the winner in terms of land use and related environmental impact compared to other carbon free energy sources. It could supply the entire world with zero emission energy from an area half the size of the state of Vermont. (9)
China currently operates 55 reactors and accounts for 22 of the 58 reactors under construction.
China’s technological lead is significant. Western countries aren’t expected to start bringing their own fourth generation nuclear plants on-line until the early 2030s.
Fourth generation reactors are defined by an international consortium of nuclear countries as having more effective safety features, more fuel-efficient technology and produce less nuclear waste.
In another example, China’s demo reactor could breed nuclear fuel from rare earth waste. After a half-century hiatus, thorium has returned to the front line of nuclear power research as a source of fuel. In 2025, China plans to start building a demonstration thorium-based molten salt reactor in the Gobi Desert. It’s scheduled to be operational by 2030. (10)
The attraction of thorium is that it can help achieve energy self-sufficiency by reducing dependence on uranium, particularly for countries such as India with enormous thorium reserves. But China may source it is a different way. The element is a waste product of China’s huge rare earth mining industry. Harnessing it would provide a practically inexhaustible supply of fuel.
Atomic power is popular again in many parts of the world, as countries look for emission free and dependable sources of energy.
At last year’s COP28 climate conference in Dubai, French President Emmanuel Macron triumphantly declared that nuclear energy is back. His celebratory remark was uttered after France led a group of 20 countries in signing a pledge to triple nuclear energy capacity from 2020 by 2050. (11)
Since the summit, a range of announcements and promises have been made that appear to support France’s nuclear renaissance. In November, the European Parliament backed the development of small modular reactors (SMRs), a versatile technology that many consider to be the future of the industry. Two months later, Energy Transition Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said that France will build 14 new nuclear power plants rather than the six currently planned if the country is to meet its energy transition goals.
India also has been receptive to nuclear technology, with 23 reactors in operation and 12 more new reactors expected to begin operation on the subcontinent soon. Installed nuclear capacity grew by more than 40 percent in the last seven years. (12)
Record nuclear power production is helping South Korea to cut imports of thermal coal and LNG to multi-year lows so far in 2025, offering a potential blueprint for other power-hungry nations looking to curb reliance on fossil fuel. (13)
Nuclear reactors have generated more electricity than South Korea’s coal and natural gas-fired plants since September of last year, and have helped the country’s utilities make steep cuts to fossil fuel purchases and use so far in 2025.
The Italian Parliament formally backed the plan to reintroduce nuclear power plants into Italy’s energy mix, reversing the nation’s 1987 moratorium on nuclear power. (14)
Sweden shocked the world by putting the brakes on renewable energy goals. Abandoning the 100% renewable goal is a bold move coming from a nation often touted as a green leader. Sweden is going nuclear. (15)
The European Union (EU) parliament announced a decision that’s causing the fraudulent climate change narrative to self-destruct. EU parliament backs labeling gas and nuclear investments as green and climate friendly. This decision is the first sign that European leaders may be pulling back from the green energy suicide cult that now typifies socialist progressive governments that are more interested in virtue signalling than allowing their own domestic economies to function. (16)
Read next: Nuclear Energy Rejuvenation
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