STATEMENT: Google takes a wrong turn with nuclear deal

BOSTON — Google announced a “world first” deal on Monday to buy energy from small nuclear reactors (SMRs) in order to power their data centers. 

Under the terms of the deal with California’s Kairos Power, the first SMR is due to be completed by 2030 and the remainder by 2035. Google signed the deal to meet a significant increase in demand for electricity due to the growth of generative AI and cloud storage. 

The surge in energy-intensive computing has led to the recent announcement of plans to reopen the Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant in Pennsylvania and extend the lives of two coal plants in Maryland.

Environment America Research & Policy Center’s Senior Director of the Campaign for 100% Renewable Energy, Johanna Neumann, issued the following statement:

“Artificial intelligence may be new, but claims that the next revolutionary nuclear technology will solve our energy problems have been around since we first split the atom. Google’s claims that its new small modular reactors (SMRs) will start coming online in 2030 stand in contrast to a long history of overhyped nuclear promises, including the cancellation of an SMR project in Utah just last year. 

“The climate clock is ticking and there is no time for false promises of technologies that might or might not show up on time. 

“In the blind sprint to win on AI, Google has lost its way. It’s time for Big Tech to recommit to solutions that work and pose less risk to our environment and health, including making data centers as energy efficient as possible and committing them to be powered by new renewable energy sources. And it’s well past time for urgent action to prevent skyrocketing tech industry energy consumption from derailing America’s efforts to get off fossil fuels and stop global warming.”