The growth of AI is set to explode data centre power demand by the end of the decade, according to reports, the power demand for data centres in the US alone is set to increase by 12% every year until the end of 2030. Meanwhile, COP29 is kicking off this week and focusing a lens on the need for ambitious decarbonisation strategies. All of this adds up to a need to find sustainable sources of energy to power the energy-hungry Big Data sector.
One of the biggest challenges for finding a decarbonised energy source for Big Data is that data centres require a constant supply of power 24/7. Data centres can’t wait for the sun to shine or wind to blow – our increasingly connected world relies on a stable baseload supply. Nuclear reactors offer a strong baseload but neither Amazon nor Meta have, despite their effort, found a solution for integrating nuclear power with data centres.
Amazon’s interconnection service agreement (ISA) with Talen Energy was recently rejected by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in a split decision after the FERC found that one of the parties, PJM Interconnection, failed to demonstrate the need to deviate from their standard pro forma ISAs. In particular, PJM proposed to increase the behind-the-meter connection between Talen’s power plant and Amazon’s co-located data centre by 60%, when compared to standard ISAs. In the FERC’s decision, two of the three commissioners held that “PJM has not met its burden to show that these provisions are necessary for any interest unique to the interconnection of the Susquehanna [power plant].”
Meanwhile, Meta’s plan to deploy a nuclear-powered AI data centre has been scuppered after a rare species of bee was discovered on the land designated for the project. After all, you can’t exactly choose a power source for environmental reasons and then wreak havoc on the local wildlife.
Enter ‘small’ nuclear.
Smaller nuclear reactors, such as modular reactors, offer significant advantages to Big Data. Like the conventional ‘big’ nuclear reactors, small modular reactors provide a decarbonised source of power so contribute towards the overall goal of clean power. Unlike ‘big’ nuclear though, modular reactors have a much smaller footprint, require significantly less infrastructure and, potentially, could be connected with data centres in a plug-and-play style. This ease of connection is attractive both to the data centre providers for the reduced cost and complexity, and to regulators such as the FERC who are seemingly looking for consistency in the ISAs between data centres and the power providers.
The advantage of modular reactors has already been recognised by Google. Perhaps with recent developments, other data centre providers will follow suit – in the coming years Big Data could become one of Small Nuclear’s biggest customers. Here at Mewburn Ellis, we’re excited to see the opportunities that could arise from the collaborations between the nuclear sector and the Big Data market.
