Why Big Tech Is Betting Billions on Nuclear Power for AI

The electricity demands of artificial intelligence are rewriting energy strategy across Silicon Valley. Data center power consumption is projected to nearly double from 485 terawatt-hours in 2025 to 950 TWh by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency. AI-specific loads are growing fastest, tripling in that same period. By some estimates, total data center usage could exceed 1,000 TWh as early as 2026—more than Japan’s entire annual consumption.

Tech giants are responding by bypassing the grid entirely. Microsoft signed a 20-year deal to restart the Three Mile Island reactor in Pennsylvania, the first time a technology company has financed a nuclear restart specifically for data centers. Amazon purchased a data center campus next to the Susquehanna nuclear plant and locked in 1.9 gigawatts of power through 2042. Google is backing small modular reactors from Kairos Power, with contracts for up to 500 megawatts expected online by 2030.

The logic is straightforward: AI training and inference require constant, high-density power that renewables alone cannot reliably provide. Nuclear runs 24/7 with capacity factors above 90 percent and near-zero emissions. Natural gas still fills the gap today, but corporate net-zero pledges make that an uncomfortable interim solution.

Challenges remain. Small modular reactors are unproven at scale, regulatory approvals take years, and supply chains remain tight. Yet hyperscalers have contracted for over 10 gigawatts of potential new nuclear capacity in the U.S. over the past year. Goldman Sachs estimates 85 to 90 gigawatts would be needed globally by 2030 to cover all data center growth—though less than 10 percent of that will likely materialize in time.

For now, the bets are placed. Microsoft is restarting a plant synonymous with nuclear anxiety. Amazon is co-locating data halls next to fission reactors. Google is ordering miniature reactors not yet built. AI’s power hunger has forced a reckoning, and the answer carries a nuclear signature.