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u.s. technology giants are working hard to meet the increasing power demands of artificial intelligence (ai) technology and its applications. microsoft recently reached an agreement to find nuclear energy sources for data center energy consumption by restarting abandoned nuclear power plants. google is not to be left behind. it wants to research ways to use green energy and is also eyeing nuclear energy.

on thursday, october 3, local time in tokyo, sundar pichai, ceo of google and its parent company alphabet, revealed in an interview with nikkei asia that google is studying the use of nuclear energy, a possible "green" energy, to generate electricity for its data centers. “for the first time in our history, we have this foundational technology that informs everything we do today,” he said of generative ai. “i think we have a lot to do here.”

however, google’s big bet on ai has had “side effects”: google announced two months ago, due to the expansion of data centers that support ai systems, google’s greenhouse gas emissions soared by 48% in five years from 2019 to 2023. this means that the electricity demand generated by the ai ​​system may make it difficult for google to achieve its carbon reduction goals. three years ago, google committed to reducing all net direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2030, and by then running the grid to be powered by carbon-free energy 24 hours a day.

against this backdrop, as the year approaches 2030, google may have to find ways to ensure access to green energy while controlling carbon emissions.

pichai said on thursday that google's aforementioned 2030 carbon reduction goal is "very ambitious" and "we will still be very ambitious to work towards this goal. obviously, the trajectory of ai investment increases the amount of time required to (achieve) the task." emissions reduction) scale,” he continued:

"we are now looking at additional investments, for example in solar power, and evaluating technologies such as small modular nuclear reactors."

nikkei, the media outlet that interviewed pichai, pointed out that pichai did not specify where google might start purchasing nuclear power. most of the power is likely to come from restarting "using waste heat." that is, like microsoft, reactivate the three mile island nuclear power plant in the united states where a serious nuclear accident occurred.

a recent article mentioned that because it needs a large amount of clean energy to meet the power needs of its ai data center, microsoft signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with constellation energy, the largest nuclear reactor operator in the united states, three mile island last month. ) agreement to restart the three mile island nuclear power plant and sell all power generated to microsoft. this could incentivize the optimization and expansion of the nuclear energy supply chain, including uranium mining, nuclear fuel processing, and nuclear reactor construction and maintenance.

the agreement highlights the potential for clean energy demand, which is likely to continue to grow as data centers and other large energy consumers increase their demand for electricity as a stable and low-carbon energy option.

last wednesday, oklo, a nuclear energy startup where openai ceo sam altman serves as chairman, announced that its first commercial microreactor is entering the preliminary construction phase. oklo ceo jacob dewitte mentioned the significance of the restart of the three mile island nuclear power plant that day, calling it "proof" that the technology industry is seeing "increasing energy demand and the importance of locking in a secure energy supply."

dewitte believes that the nuclear energy industry is "severely lagging in responding to market demand." he said the u.s. department of energy has approved oklo to begin site investigations for microreactors, which will focus on infrastructure planning, environmental surveys and geotechnical assessments. he expects oklo to start construction on the idaho site in 2026 and plans to have the reactor operational in 2027.

some commentators say that the financing market is now increasingly receptive to nuclear energy transactions, because governments and technology giants understand that the only way to achieve ambitious net-zero carbon emissions goals is not solar and wind energy, but nuclear energy.

u.s. stocks rallied last month after constellation energy reached a 20-year agreement with microsoft to sell power generated by the three mile island nuclear power plant.. a goldman sachs report last month also cited the prospect of rising uranium prices.

with a constructive view on the role of nuclear power in the overall energy transition, goldman sachs believes uranium prices are likely to rise, driven by strong demand fundamentals (new reactors, restarts and expansions) and expectations for limited supply increases by the end of the decade, the report said. continue to gradually move higher over time.