Nuclear energy could provide steady, 24/7 electricity
Every email sent, movie streamed or app used depends on data centers. These facilities, filled with thousands of servers, power our digital lives. But these facilities need a constant, reliable energy supply, and nuclear power may be the ideal match.
To look into this further, researchers from the Systems Analysis and Integration (SA&I) campaign at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, along with Idaho National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, studied how nuclear energy could power data centers. Their findings, published in a DOE report, show how nuclear power plants could provide steady, 24/7 electricity while offering other benefits.
“Data centers are the engines of our digital lives, and they need power around the clock,” said Nicolas Stauff, group manager of Nuclear Applications and Economics at Argonne. “We recognized that data centers were going to be the next big energy consumer, and we needed to analyze how nuclear power plants could serve those needs, in which timeframe and locations.”
The study looked at five ways to connect nuclear power plants with data centers. These ranged from grid-connected setups to co-located systems (where the data center is built next to the plant). Each option has unique benefits, including cost savings and better reliability.
Meeting the growing energy demand
The energy demand of U.S. data centers is expected to grow exponentially, requiring up to 85 gigawatts (GW) of reliable power by the end of the decade, the researchers observed. A GW is a massive unit of power equivalent to one billion watts. A single GW could power a medium-sized city.
“We recognized that data centers were going to be the next big energy consumer, and we needed to analyze how nuclear power plants could serve those needs, in which timeframe and locations.” – Nicolas Stauff, group manager of Nuclear Applications and Economics at Argonne
Typically, data centers built today use electricity from the grid or onsite natural gas plants. Nuclear energy, with its ability to provide reliable power, is well-suited to meet growing demand. Projections indicate a total increase of 24-74 GW demand from data centers by 2028. To meet this demand, nuclear energy would need to have 27-85 GW of installed capacity.
The research team identified several pathways to meet demand, including restarting recently retired reactors, power purchase agreements with an existing nuclear fleet and new construction.
By the early 2030s, approximately 20-28 GW of nuclear capacity could be dedicated to data centers in the U.S.
Picking the right location
Several factors make a site suitable for pairing nuclear power plants and data centers. First, certain criteria for building a nuclear power plant must be taken into consideration. These include land that is relatively flat and not in an earthquake zone, among others. Generally, these criteria apply to data center construction as well.
Availability of a nearby grid connection, water resources, a fiber network connection and workforce are a few other criteria necessary for co-locating to be successful. Several potential siting options were found in all U.S. states, considering new sites or some existing power plant sites.
“As the U.S. builds new digital infrastructures, we are leveraging existing capabilities to support siting of data centers along existing or new nuclear power plants,” said Femi Omitaomu, group leader of Computational Urban Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Offering economic benefits
Both data centers and nuclear power plants are huge drivers of jobs and tax revenue. Pairing them could bring even larger economic benefits to communities. For example, a 1 GW data center connected to a nuclear plant could create nearly 1,700 operational jobs and support an additional 7,300 jobs in urban areas and 3,200 jobs in a rural location.
“Data centers and nuclear plants together would drive strong economic growth in any community,” said Will Jenson, Economics and Operational Analysis group lead at Idaho National Laboratory. “Urban areas would see larger benefits due to supply chain integration, while rural areas would still experience clear growth.”
Additionally, using existing infrastructure, such as retired coal plants and existing nuclear sites, would offer ideal cost-saving opportunities for co-located projects.
Overcoming challenges
Despite its potential, combining nuclear power with data centers has challenges. These include construction timelines, regulatory hurdles, water availability and high upfront costs. However, the study outlines ways to address these issues. Restarting retired reactors, upgrading existing plants and using advanced nuclear technologies like small modular reactors (SMRs) are some options.
SMRs are especially appealing to data center operators because they are a fraction of the size of a conventional nuclear power plant, can be assembled onsite and have a smaller upfront investment than larger reactors, Stauff explained.
The team also stressed the need for collaboration among policymakers, tech companies and the nuclear industry. DOE is already supporting such projects by offering federal land for siting data centers and nuclear plants. Proposals are underway at four DOE selected sites, Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Reservation, Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant and Savannah River Site, to develop cutting edge AI data center and energy generation projects.
Articulating a future vision
This research is just the start. Next, the SA&I campaign will explore key areas like fuel needs, techno- and socio-economic feasibility and siting options and analyze several case studies. The goal is to create a framework for using nuclear energy with data centers, ensuring the digital economy grows sustainably.
“We tend to forget that every time we use a phone or stream a video, we rely on data centers,” said Stauff. “It’s important for the country to support their growth with reliable energy like nuclear power.”
As the digital age expands, national laboratories continue to lead in innovation, providing trusted insights to shape the future of energy and technology.
Source: Argonne National Labratory