Data centers consider going nuclear

TL;DR: As data centers proliferate across the US, some states are eyeing nuclear reactors to help provide the enormous amounts of energy they’ll need to run. It might sound like some relief for your already-rising electric bills—which data centers are partly to blame for—but experts say state taxpayers could wind up footing the bill for nuclear reactors, too.

What happened: States like New Jersey, Minnesota, and New York are exploring building nuclear reactors to satisfy the skyrocketing energy demand caused by data centers and widespread electrification. Legislation to solicit bids for new nuclear power plants is currently inching forward in New Jersey, and Minnesota lawmakers recently OK’d a bill to study funding for new plants. In New York, things are further along: Gov. Kathy Hochul greenlit a nuclear power plant last year. And the White House is in on it, too—Trump wants 10 reactors to be in construction in the next few years.

But nuclear reactors are enormously expensive: Two recently built in Georgia cost $35 billion combined, which was more than double the original budget. What’s more, Georgia’s nuclear project ended up running seven years behind schedule. If that's any indication of how long it takes for new reactors to come online, we could be at least a decade away from nuclear-powered data centers.

Why it matters: Opponents of potential nuclear plants say that they’re an imperfect solution that would add to the costs ratepayers are already facing as a result of data center buildouts. Greg Jaczko, who was the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission during the first Obama administration, said nuclear power is “the most expensive way to add electrons to the grid today.”

“Our electricity bills are just skyrocketing because of data center development in surrounding communities, and the resulting need for rapid deployments of new energy and new electricity technology,” he said during a press conference last week for a New York State Senate bill that would temporarily block taxpayer funds from being used to pay for a new nuclear facility. “Nuclear will not meet that promise; it is simply too expensive, and it takes too long to deploy.”

And like data centers themselves, the proposed expansion of nuclear power is backed by Big Tech, Jaczko said.

“This endeavor is driven by hype; it’s driven by propaganda,” he said. “We’re operating in an information space right now where the facts are not breaking through.”

Bottom line: More than half of Americans use AI every week, but a majority also don't want the data centers powering it in their backyards. And while new reactors could help power data centers, they come with massive costs and sprawling timelines. Americans want to have their Claude and to eat it, too—but who will pay? —TC