Google sprints ahead in Big Tech’s race for nuclear power

Google is pushing onward in Big Tech’s chase for nuclear energy to power its data centers, alongside companies such as Microsoft and Amazon.

The California company that started as an internet search engine said this week it made the “world’s first corporate agreement to purchase nuclear energy from multiple small modular reactors (SMRs) to be developed by Kairos Power.”

Kairos Power said its master plant development agreement with Google would yield a “U.S. fleet of advanced nuclear power projects totaling 500 [megawatts] by 2035.”

“Under the agreement, Kairos Power will develop, construct and operate a series of advanced reactor plants and sell energy, ancillary services and environmental attributes to Google under power purchase agreements (PPAs),” Kairos Power said in a statement. “Plants will be sited in relevant service territories to supply clean electricity to Google data centers, with the first deployment by 2030 to support Google’s 24/7 carbon-free energy and net zero goals.”

Large tech companies are increasingly looking for nuclear solutions to support energy-thirsty data centers fueling the artificial intelligence overhaul.

Michael Terrell, Google’s energy and climate senior director, on Monday said the power grid needs new electricity sources to support artificial intelligence tech, and nuclear solutions represent a “clean, round-the-clock power source” that’s reliable.

Mr. Terrell said on Google’s blog that the company’s investment in nuclear power would ultimately “benefit everyone.”

“Advancing these power sources in close partnership with supportive local communities will rapidly drive the decarbonization of electricity grids around the world,” he wrote.

Big Tech companies are singing from the same hymnal to portray their rush toward nuclear power as better for the environment rather than a risky endeavor.

Microsoft revealed last month it partnered with Constellation Energy Corp. to restart a reactor at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania. Constellation said the restored reactor is physically next to the separate reactor that infamously partially melted down in 1979.

When Microsoft Vice President Bobby Hollis announced the move on the company’s blog, he made no mention of Three Mile Island and instead identified the site as “an 835 megawatt (MW) nuclear facility in Pennsylvania that was retired in 2019.”

The tech sector is closely watching regulators’ responses to Big Tech’s moves, and some government officials may need persuading.

Amazon purchased a nuclear-powered data center in March, according to the American Nuclear Society.

After Amazon sought to expand the terms of its deal with Talen Energy, it faced challenges from utility companies asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to take a closer look at the tech titan’s plans, according to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Microsoft, however, has already won praise from important policymakers from Washington to Pennsylvania. David Rosner, a regulator appointed to the FERC by President Biden, labeled the Microsoft move “cool” last week while noting he wouldn’t prejudge any matter he had to review.

Google, Microsoft and Amazon are not the only tech leaders looking to leverage nuclear power. OpenAI’s Sam Altman is chairman of the board at nuclear startup Oklo, which reportedly wants to build its first small modular nuclear reactor by 2027.

Oklo announced Tuesday that the Energy Department approved a conceptual safety design report for its fuel fabrication facility in Idaho.