Oct. 15 (UPI) — Google announced on Monday that it signed a corporate agreement to buy nuclear energy from several small modular reactors developed by California-based Kairos Power as a way to decrease its carbon footprint in the face of increasing energy needs.
Michael Terrell, Google’s senior director for energy and climate, said in a blog that the power grid needs new energy to support artificial intelligence while not contributing to climate change. He said the deal would enable up to 500 megawatts of new carbon-free power to U.S. electrical grids and help more communities benefit from clean, cheap power.
He said the first small modular reactor would be up and running by 2030 followed by additional reactors by 2035.
“This agreement helps accelerate a new technology to meet energy needs cleanly and reliably and unlock the full potential of AI for everyone,” Terrell said on a Google blog. “Nuclear solutions offer a clean, round-the-clock power source that can help us reliably meet electricity demands with carbon-free energy every hour of every day.”
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, small modular reactors are advanced reactors about one-third the size of traditional reactors but can produce a large amount of low-carbon energy.
The prefabricated units can be shipped to desired locations, reduce the construction time and be customized for sites that have been long off-limits for such nuclear reactors, the IAEA said.
Terrell said that with the support of local communities, nuclear energy can lead to the decarbonization of the electrical grid around the world.
Terrell touted that the smaller size and “simplified design” of modular reactors can “reduce construction timelines, allow deployment in more places and make the final project delivery more predictable.”
Google’s deal comes after an announcement last month that the company Constellation signed a 20-year deal with Microsoft to restore the Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear reactor in Pennsylvania for its future energy needs.
That reopening is expected to create 835 megawatts of carbon-free energy and create 3,400 jobs.
In September, the Biden administration said it reached a $1.52 billion loan agreement to give a Michigan nuclear power plant back to life to feed power to several rural electricity providers.
