By Anita Hamilton
Less than a month after Microsoft announced a deal to harness nuclear power to keep its artificial intelligence data centers humming, Google announced Monday that it is working with privately held Kairos Power to provide electricity for its AI technologies.
Google will get 500 megawatts of power from a series of small reactors built by Kairos known as small modular reactors (SMRs). The first one is expected to go online in 2030, with the rest up and running by 2035.
"The grid needs new electricity sources to support AI technologies that are powering major scientific advances," Michael Terrell, Google's Senior Director of Energy and Climate, wrote in a blog post.
Microsoft, which announced a deal with Constellation Energy in September, will be getting its nuclear power from the infamous Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania, which can produce up to 800 megawatts of power. While one of its reactors had a partial meltdown in 1979, the other reactor closed down in 2019 for financial reasons and will be restarted, pending regulatory approval. It's expected to be back online in 2028.
As for why Google chose the smaller reactors, Google's Terrell wrote, "the smaller size and modular design can reduce construction timelines, allow deployment in more places, and make the final project delivery more predictable."
Neither company revealed the financial terms of the deal.
Google and Microsoft aren't the only Big Tech firms tapping low-carbon nuclear energy. Amazon struck a deal with Houston-based Talen Energy in which it paid $650 million for a site right next to a Talen power plant so it can get power piped directly from it without connecting to the larger transmission grid.
Nuclear power plant operator stocks rose Monday, with Talen closing up 4.6% to $167, Vistra up 5.6% to $132, and Constellation up 2.1% to $272. Shares of Google parent company Alphabet rose as well, closing up 1% at $165.
Write to Anita Hamilton at anita.hamilton@barrons.com
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October 14, 2024 17:11 ET (21:11 GMT)
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