As of late 2025, no U.S. data centers provide their own nuclear power plants, though some are exploring or securing power from existing nuclear facilities. Government initiatives are planning for new data centers to be co-located with advanced nuclear reactors for on-site power, but this infrastructure is still in the proposal and planning stages.
Current data center power: Data centers currently get their electricity from a mix of sources, with natural gas being the largest provider, followed by renewables, nuclear, and coal.
Power purchase agreements: Some companies are signing power purchase agreements (PPAs) to buy electricity from existing nuclear plants, such as Microsoft's deal to source power from the Three Mile Island plant.
Government plans: The U.S. government is soliciting proposals for private companies to build and operate data centers that could be directly linked to advanced nuclear reactor technology at government sites like the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee.
Timeline for new nuclear: The construction of new nuclear reactors, whether for existing grids or new data center projects, is not expected to happen at scale until at least the early 2030s.
As of late 2025, there are no U.S. data centers powered by their own nuclear power plants, nor is any such facility expected to come online this year. Instead, large tech companies are investing in power purchase agreements (PPAs) to support the nuclear energy industry and meet the future energy demands of their data centers.
Key developments in 2025 related to data centers and nuclear power:
Power purchase agreements (PPAs): Tech companies are turning to PPAs to secure a dedicated and reliable power source for their data centers. This involves purchasing the output of a nuclear plant, which enables companies to meet their growing energy needs without the immense cost and complexity of building and operating their own reactors.
Restarting dormant plants: Companies are investing in existing nuclear facilities to bring them back online. For example, in October 2025, Google and NextEra Energy announced plans to restart the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa by 2029 to power Google's data centers. Similarly, in 2024, Microsoft signed a 20-year PPA with Constellation Energy to restart part of the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania, with an anticipated restart date of 2027.
Federal land initiatives: In 2025, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) issued a Request for Proposals for private companies to build and operate data centers with on-site nuclear energy at federal nuclear sites in South Carolina and Tennessee. This initiative aims to pair next-generation computing with advanced nuclear energy on federal land.
Small Modular Reactors (SMRs): Many tech companies are investing in SMR technology, which is considered better suited for long-term baseload power for data centers. For example, Amazon is funding SMRs in Washington, while Google has an agreement with SMR developer Kairos Power. However, commercial deployment is not expected until the 2030s.
Future projects: Some private developers, such as Fermi America, are undertaking ambitious plans to build their own nuclear reactors alongside data centers. In October 2025, Fermi signed agreements with two Korean firms to begin building four large nuclear reactors to power a data center campus in the Texas Panhandle.
https://www.google.com/search?q=how+many+us+data+centers+provide+their+own+nuclear+power+plants+2025
The
United States introduced its first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus,
on January 21, 1954, when it was launched. The submarine was commissioned
later that year on September 30, 1954, and then ran on nuclear power for the
first time on January 17, 1955.
https://www.google.com/search?q=when+did+the+us+introduce+nuclear+powered+submarines
France
adopted nuclear power plants on a large scale in the mid-1970s, following
the 1973 oil crisis, which triggered the "Messmer plan" for energy
independence. Although the first commercial reactor came online in the 1960s
and the country had an early nuclear reactor called "Zoé" in 1948,
the 1970s marked the major expansion of its nuclear fleet.
https://www.google.com/search?q=when+did+france+adopt+nuclear+power+plants
The
Chernobyl disaster happened on April 26, 1986, in what was then the Soviet
Union. While the power plant was located in Ukraine, the accident had massive
environmental and health impacts that spread across the Soviet Union, now
including Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia.
https://www.google.com/search?q=when+did+russia+have+the+chernobyl+disaster&
Japan's
major nuclear power plant disaster occurred on March 11, 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi
Nuclear Power Plant.
The incident was a result of the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit
northeastern Japan that day, leading to meltdowns in three reactors,
explosions, and the release of radioactive material.
https://www.google.com/search?q=when+did+japan+have+its+nuclear+power+plant+disaster
Georgia
completed its nuclear power plant expansion at Plant Vogtle in April 2024,
when Unit 4 officially entered into commercial operation. This was the last
step of the project, which added two new reactors (Units 3 and 4) to the
facility near Waynesboro.
The
United States is projected to use approximately 4,191 billion kilowatt-hours of
electricity in 2025, which is about 478.5 gigawatt-hours per year. This represents a record high for electricity
consumption in the U.S.
https://www.google.com/search?q=how+many+gigawatts+does+the+us+use+per+year+2025
Comments
The US will need to double its output of kilowatt-hours to be able to power the Data Centers. We may need to repurpose our abandoned Coal-Fired Plants and reopen our closed Natural Gas Plants as well as adding various sizes of Nuclear Power Plants for Large Data Centers.
The US has had Nuclear Powered Submarines since the 1950s. These “mini-power plants” were successful and sent the US to consider nuclear power generation from small to large. Large Plant disasters in the US delayed the trend for expansion of Nuclear Power. France adopted Nuclear Power Plants in the 1970s and have been successful. Russia suffered a melt-down in 1986. Japan suffered its melt-down in 2011.
We have learned what to avoid as a result of these nuclear disasters in Russia, the US and Japan. We can also learn from France how they have maintained their Nuclear Power Plants. We can learn what it takes to expand a Nuclear Power Plant from Georgia Power.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
No comments:
Post a Comment