Artificial intelligence feeds great technological associations with nuclear energy producers

There have been few changes in the energy consumption of the United States in the last decade. The increase in efforts to make energy use more efficient has maintained low levels. But in the next five years, the demand for electricity to energy data centers is expected to be more than double. Some estimates show that facilities require as much energy in 2030 as the entire country in Japan today.

“All investors are aligning to invest in the next advance of the AI. But when it comes to energy, there is a challenge in terms of permission, the reality of construction deadlines for new electrical plants and new network capabilities,” said the main advisor of the Wadhwani AI Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “All this could slow the AI ​​just when research and development are preparing for takeoff.”

The demand for technology companies occurs in the midst of consumer skepticism. According to a News survey about how voters felt about AI in society, 43% saw it as something good, while 47% thought it was something bad.

“I think it is natural that people always have it, call it a mixture of hopes and anxieties about what a new technology, including any new technology and especially AI, can bring,” said Microsoft president Brad Smith. “The truth is that we all trust the AI ​​already, even if we don’t think about it.”

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While positive opinions have increased faster than negative opinions, according to 2023 surveys, the surveyed subgroups expressed opinions throughout the Board. Most rural voters, white voters, women and those over 45 saw AI as a bad. Urban voters, non -white voters, men and children under 45 saw technology as good. Among the main political parties, registered Republicans were very optimistic about AI, but no approval of the parties was greater than 50%.

Despite the somewhat negative feeling of most voters, technology companies are being promoted.

“The AI ​​is based on much of what we call Compute. Many chips that make many calculations and many data to which it is accessed and stored. Therefore, all that requires more electricity. And that is why we have to follow new associations such as we are with the types of companies that generate electricity,” said Smith.

At least two nuclear plants are scheduled to restart thanks to large technological associations.

“I think all this will become a growing part of the future of electricity of the nation,” said Smith. “It only makes sense that an electric company invests again, putting something like Three Mile Island again if you have the guarantee that someone will buy it. And in this case, Microsoft entered an advanced long -term purchase agreement with Constellation.”

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Three Mile Island is near the capital of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. The site is better known for the partial crisis of its unit 2 reactor in 1979. It was one of the most serious nuclear accidents in the history of the United States. The reactor was disconnected immediately after the sequelae.

“Very small radioactivity traces of the plant have been released,” said Edison’s metropolitan vice president, John “Jack” Herbein at that time.

While there were no detectable health effects, the incident changed the way in which nuclear plants operate. Three Mile Island Unite 1 closed in 2019 for economic reasons. Constellation and Microsoft plan to restart the reactor already in 2027 in what is now called Crane Energy Center. Will add more than 800 megawatts of energy. That is enough to boost more than 800,000 houses. Nuclear energy has the highest energy efficiency rate, however, energy producers say the United States should remain diversified.

“I think it will be an important part of the mixture,” said the president and CEO of Constellation, Joseph Domínguez. “We do not need energy 24 hours, 7 days a week for the total amount of electricity in the US. UU. We still have seasonal needs, we still have day and night differences.”

Microsoft is working to add the amount of energy to the network that the company’s data centers will use from the regional transmission system.

“Our philosophy as a company is that we will invest to bring to the electricity grid as much or more power than we will consume,” said Smith. “We will do it in a way that guarantees that none of the neighbors will see the increase in their electricity rates.”

Constellation is also being associated with a goal to relate its Clinton Clean Energy Center in the center of Illinois for another 20 years.

“It is a combination of existing megawatts plus new megawatts that are being developed in accordance with the great agreements we have with hyperscalers,” Dominguez said.

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Meta plans to add up to four nuclear generation gigawatts in the United States from the beginning of the 2030s. Amazon will build two complexes of data centers in Pennsylvania and use almost two electricity gigawats of the Talen Energy nuclear plant. Google is associating with Elementl Power in three nuclear projects, each expected to produce 600 megawatts.

“All this is nuclear. It is a hot industry. It is a brilliant industry,” said President Donald Trump by signing several executive orders in May. They are intended to quadruplicate the production of national nuclear energy in the next 25 years.

“To win the AI ​​race, we will need a lot of energy,” they said to the White House and Crypto Tsar David Sacks. “The new AI data centers have a lot of energy. They consume a lot of electricity. And the US electric network has really not grown much in the last decade.”

Sacks founded the Craft Ventures risk capital firm. He is now helping to direct the agenda of President Trump.

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“We have to have the greatest infrastructure. We need to have the greatest number of data centers. We need the greatest computer power, and that means more energy,” Sacks said. “China has doubled the size of its electrical grid in the last decade. We have not done it and, therefore, we need to pierce the drill and build the construction of the baby.”