Google is one step nearer to reaching its nuclear ambitions now that it’s working with public energy utility Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to buy electrical energy from a next-generation reactor. It’s the primary energy buy settlement for technology this advanced {that a} US utility has made, in line with the businesses.
The plan is for TVA to purchase electrical energy from a reactor being developed by engineering firm Kairos Energy in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. As soon as the reactor is up and operating, anticipated in 2030, it ought to begin supplying electrical energy to the native grid that serves Google knowledge facilities in Tennessee and Alabama.
In the event that they handle to drag this all off, it might assist jumpstart an entire new period for nuclear power
In the event that they handle to drag this all off, it might assist jumpstart an entire new period for nuclear power within the US. The nation’s present fleet of nuclear reactors makes use of decades-old expertise that has struggled to compete with low cost electrical energy from gas-fired energy vegetation and photo voltaic and wind farms. Kairos Energy is constructing one of many first reactors that proponents hope can usher in a resurgence of nuclear power, and meet rising electrical energy demand from Huge Tech and AI.
Oak Ridge, Tennessee — the place Kairos is constructing Hermes 2 — was as soon as the headquarters for the Manhattan Project. Now, as an alternative of housing amenities enriching uranium for the primary atomic bombs, Oak Ridge has change into a hub for nuclear power tasks and analysis.
Ultimately, Google goals to assist Kairos deploy 500 megawatts of latest nuclear capability within the US by 2035. For context, America’s 94 working nuclear reactors had a combined capacity of 97,000MW in 2024 and accounted for just below 20 p.c of the US electrical energy combine. Hermes 2 is meant to achieve a capability of 50MW.
Firms that generate carbon pollution-free electrical energy, like nuclear power and renewables, can become profitable by promoting the electrical energy they supply to the ability grid and by selling so-called clean energy attributes which might be like separate certificates representing the environmental advantages of avoiding fossil gasoline emissions. Google will obtain clear power attributes from the Hermes 2 plant by means of TVA.
Tech corporations with local weather objectives typically purchase clear power attributes to attempt to cancel out the air pollution attributable to their electrical energy use. By matching its electrical energy use with these certificates, an organization would possibly declare that it runs on clear power even when it’s plugged into an influence grid that also runs on soiled power. Additional revenue from clear power attributes is meant to assist builders add extra carbon pollution-free energy to the grid (though analysis has proven that the environmental benefits are often overestimated). Google’s carbon emissions rose again last year because it ramps up its AI offerings.
