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Landmark Deal
Google just inked a major nuclear energy deal focused on powering AI efforts without destroying the planet in the process.
On Monday, Google announced a landmark agreement with nuclear startup Kairos Power to purchase energy produced by seven yet-to-be-built small modular nuclear reactors. The companies claim the deal aims to add upwards of 500 megawatts "of new 24/7 carbon-free power to US electricity grids" — that is, over a decade from now when Kairos promises the reactors will be built.
AI is an incredibly energy-intensive technology. And though its makers often trumpet AI's promise as a climate crisis-solving innovation, the AI industry's massive reliance on nonrenewable sources to power the energy-guzzling tech has caused companies including Google and Microsoft to miss important climate targets.
Google and Kairos are touting the renewable energy deal as a win for overall tech sustainability and, most importantly, sustainable AI development.
"This agreement helps accelerate a new technology to meet energy needs cleanly and reliably," wrote Michael Terrell, Google's senior director for energy and climate, in a company blog post, "and unlock the full potential of AI for everyone."
Big Promises
In the announcement, Google and Kairos claim that the first of the modular nuclear power terminals will be up and running by 2030, with all modules completed by 2035.
As Bloomberg reported in May, Google stopped mass-buying carbon offset tokens this year amid its emissions-intensive AI efforts, and as a result, no longer claims to be carbon neutral. The tech giant is still promising to be net-zero carbon by 2030, though as it stands, AI is making that mission increasingly unlikely.
In his blog post, Terrell noted that the goal of the deal is to "complement" Google's use "of variable renewables, like solar and wind, and help us reach our ambitious 24/7 carbon-free energy and net-zero goals."
Nuclear Revival
Google isn't the first AI company to look to renewable nuclear energy as a means of offsetting AI's serious fossil fuel problem.
In another high-profile plan to put nuclear back on the energy menu, Microsoft announced a deal last month to revitalize the decades-old plant at Pennsylvania's notorious Three Mile Island, the site of the worst nuclear power accident in US history. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is also deeply invested in conventional nuclear power as well as still-unrealized fusion power.
Nuclear power has long had a public relations problem in the US. But now, as powerful tech giants scramble to power AI without taking a wrecking ball to the Earth's climate, nuclear is making a serious comeback — though whether Google and its peers will be able to power their AI models and still meet essential climate targets remains precariously unclear.
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