Google introduced plans to revive a nuclear energy plant that shut down in 2020, because it appears to be like to safe sufficient electrical energy for its AI information facilities.
The corporate introduced a 25-year settlement with NextEra Power to ultimately buy electrical energy from the Duane Arnold Power Heart, a 615MW nuclear plant in Iowa, when it begins working once more. “We’re enabling the funding to restart the plant and protecting prices for the manufacturing of power from Duane Arnold,” Google says in a weblog publish. The Central Iowa Energy Cooperative will buy remaining electrical energy from the plant that Google doesn’t use.
It’s the most recent transfer by Google and different tech firms to revitalize nuclear power within the US
It’s the most recent transfer by Google and different tech firms to revitalize nuclear power within the US, which has struggled to compete with falling prices for fuel, photo voltaic, and wind energy over time. As energy grids scramble to maintain up with rising electrical energy demand from AI, nuclear power has turn out to be a extra enticing choice for producing carbon-free power around-the-clock for information facilities.
Duane Arnold first began producing energy in 1975, and is slated to begin working once more in 2029. However getting it operational will likely be no small process; the US has by no means restarted a mothballed nuclear plant, Reuters stories. Microsoft introduced plans final 12 months to assist revive a shuttered reactor at Three Mile Island, which is meant to sputter again to life in 2028.
Google says that turning an previous energy plant again on is “the quickest path to unlock large-scale nuclear energy to satisfy AI progress within the near-term.” The corporate can also be working with NextEra and Kairos Energy to develop next-generation nuclear reactors, however these superior designs nonetheless face prolonged certification and allowing processes.