Artificial intelligence data centers require significant amounts of power to operate. However, simply ensuring a stable power supply isn’t enough. Today, AI companies like Google and Microsoft place high importance on the source of the power. Making the wrong choice can undermine their sustainability goals.
In this context, nuclear energy has emerged as a promising alternative because it can produce electricity with low carbon emissions. Microsoft has officially committed to nuclear energy by reopening the Three Mile Island power plant in Pennsylvania. As it turns out, Google could be next on the list.
Google Shows Interest in Nuclear Energy
Google CEO Sundar Pichai is currently visiting Japan. During his trip, he hosted Pikachu (a person dressed up as Pikachu, that is) at the company’s offices and shared some interesting insights. Pichai told Nikkei that he sees AI as “this one piece of underlying technology which cuts across everything we do today.”
Pichai also emphasized Google’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions across its operations and value chain by 2030. This means almost completely eliminating greenhouse gases, with some allowance for residual emissions.
He acknowledged that this ambitious goal requires significant effort and discussed the role of new energy sources for Google’s data centers. “We are now looking at additional investments, be it solar, and evaluating technologies like small modular nuclear reactors,” Pichai said.
Currently, Google hasn’t disclosed more details about its plans regarding nuclear power. However, it’s evident that the company needs to make structural changes if it aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In 2023, its emissions were 48% higher than in 2019, largely due to the increased use of AI.
Google has data centers in various parts of the world, with more promising prospects in some regions than others. For instance, energy from low-carbon sources power most of its European infrastructure, while the situation is substantially different in the Middle East, Asia, and Australia.
Image | Alex Dudar | Mick Truyts
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