- U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm revealed in an interview with Axios that the Department of Energy is actively exploring nuclear power plant solutions to address the escalating electricity demands of AI data centres.
- Granholm highlighted the necessity of these measures due to the strain on the national grid caused by the rapid expansion of AI technologies.
- Discussions with major tech companies like Microsoft indicate a potential shift towards nuclear power, with Microsoft investing in small modular reactors as part of its energy strategy, potentially influencing other industry giants.
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm recently stated in an interview with Axios that the department is actively exploring solutions involving nuclear power plants to address the electricity demands of AI data centres.
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Rapid advancement of AI has exceeded the capacity of the national grid
Granholm mentioned that the development of AI in the United States itself is not an issue, as AI can assist in solving many problems for humanity. However, the key problem lies in the rapid advancement of AI, which has exceeded the capacity of the national grid to support the rapid expansion of AI data centres.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has been in discussions with large-scale enterprises such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, considering the establishment of both fusion and fission nuclear power plants to meet the growing demands of AI.
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In-depth discussions have already taken place with Microsoft
Granholm stated that in-depth discussions have already taken place with Microsoft, with plans to construct nuclear reactors near Microsoft data centres to handle the GPU loads of thousands of AI training/inference processes.
Granholm expressed the hope that the successful experience of cooperation with Microsoft could further promote the solution of nuclear power plants, easing the current electricity demands and meeting the rapid development of AI data centres.
Nuclear power accounts for only 20% of the electricity sources in the United States, and the Energy Department is currently providing $1.52 billion in funding for repairs and restoration services for the Holtec Palisades 800-MW nuclear power plant.
Microsoft is investing in small modular reactors (SMRs) as part of its energy strategy, which could serve as a model for other large tech companies to follow suit.
