The outgoing administration revealed a framework for increasing the country’s use of nuclear energy, which currently provides only 20% of the nation’s electricity.
The nuclear framework provides long-term targets, with 35 GW of new capacity planned to be added by 2035, with a further 15 GW in place by 2040.
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The new capacity will come from multiple sources, including new nuclear power plants, upgrading existing reactors, and restarting reactors that were previously retired.
“Increased investment in the safe and responsible deployment of nuclear energy and associated supply chains will strengthen our national security, increase energy reliability and resilience, grow America’s economy, and restore American leadership and global competitiveness in this critical industry,” a White House statement reads.
The shift to nuclear from the US government comes as digital infrastructure operators are increasingly trying to turn to carbon-free sources to meet ever-increasing demands.
Nuclear has proved an increasingly tantalising option for hyperscalers, with Google, Microsoft, and Amazon all unveiling nuclear-related energy projects in recent months.
Both Amazon and Google have snapped up Small Modular Reactors to provide low-carbon energy to support their data centre power demands. Microsoft, meanwhile, signed a power purchase agreement with the operator of the infamous Three Mile Island nuclear power plant to revive the site, using it to provide carbon-free energy.
Hyperscalers have been interested for some time in nuclear power, with Amazon purchasing a data centre campus located next to a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania earlier this year.
With data centre operators using up enormous amounts of electricity to keep their servers running amid increased demand for AI training and inference workloads, access to clean, consistent energy is a must.
The Biden administration’s nuclear framework acknowledges the demand from data centres, stating that increased nuclear energy “has the potential to meet critical loads that require high-quality, consistent power, such as advanced manufacturing, semiconductor fabrication, and data centres that power the internet and advancements in AI.
The nuclear framework, however, could be torn up in mere months as President-Elect Donald Trump returns to the White House in January, with the incoming administration threatening to tear up the Biden administration’s climate initiatives and subsidies in favour of a return to fossil fuels.
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