"It's the latest move by Google and other tech companies to revitalize nuclear energy in the US, which has struggled to compete with falling costs for gas, solar, and wind power over the years. As power grids scramble to keep up with growing electricity demand from AI, nuclear energy has become a more attractive option for generating carbon-free energy around-the-clock for data centers."
"We're enabling the investment to restart the plant and covering costs for the production of energy from Duane Arnold,"
"the fastest path to unlock large-scale nuclear power to meet AI growth in the near-term."
Google signed a 25-year agreement with NextEra Energy to purchase electricity from the Duane Arnold Energy Center, a 615 MW Iowa nuclear plant that shut in 2020 and is slated to restart in 2029. Google is enabling the investment to restart the plant and covering production costs, while the Central Iowa Power Cooperative will purchase remaining electricity. Nuclear has struggled against cheaper gas, solar, and wind, but rising electricity demand from AI data centers is renewing interest. The US has never restarted a mothballed nuclear plant. Microsoft plans to help revive Three Mile Island, targeted to restart in 2028, and advanced reactor designs face lengthy certification and permitting timelines.
Read at The Verge
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