Google, Kairos Power and the Tennessee Valley Authority have agreed to provide 50 megawatts of nuclear power to data centers in Tennessee and Alabama.
The businesses say the deal will help meet rising U.S. energy demand and advance the nation’s role in next-generation nuclear power.
Under the agreement, Kairos’s Hermes 2 Plant in Oak Ridge will feed as much as 50 megawatts into the TVA grid that serves Google’s facilities.
The deal makes TVA the primary utility to buy power from a GEN IV reactor.
It also marks the primary deployment of Hermes 2 under Kairos’ broader pact with Google to deliver 500 megawatts by 2035.
Kairos plans to spice up Hermes 2’s output from 28 to 50 megawatts starting in 2030.
In October, Google signed a deal with Kairos to purchase nuclear power from ‘multiple’ small modular reactors under development.
The reactors “will likely be sited in relevant service territories to provide clean energy to Google data centers” starting in 203, Kairos Power said on the time.
Google said this week the reactor will supply electricity to its data centers in Montgomery County, Tennessee, and Jackson County, Alabama.
“With this next step, we’re making a three-party solution where energy customers, utilities, and technology developers work together to advance latest technologies that will help meet the world’s growing energy needs with reliable, inexpensive capability,” Google said.
“On this initial phase of the collaboration, we’ll procure clean energy attributes from the plant through TVA to assist power our data centers within the region with locally sourced clean energy, every hour of each day,” the corporate added.
Big Tech’s energy-hungry data centers, fueled by generative artificial intelligence, require massive amounts of electricity.
Those record energy needs have pushed U.S. power consumption to latest highs and fueled demand for next-generation nuclear.
The Google-Kairos deal will ultimately support 500 megawatts of advanced nuclear capability—enough to power about 350,000 homes.
Google isn’t alone in turning to nuclear.
Microsoft struck a 20-year power purchase agreement with Constellation last 12 months that would restart Three Mile Island’s Unit 1 reactor in Pennsylvania. Amazon announced three nuclear-focused deals in October with Energy Northwest, X-energy and Dominion Energy.
A GridStrategies report projects U.S. electricity demand will rise 15.8% by 2029, driven by data centers, manufacturing and electrification.
The International Energy Agency expects U.S. data center electricity use to leap 130% between 2024 and 2030.
FOX Business’ Aislinn Murphy and Reuters contributed to this report.
Google, Kairos Power and the Tennessee Valley Authority have agreed to provide 50 megawatts of nuclear power to data centers in Tennessee and Alabama.
The businesses say the deal will help meet rising U.S. energy demand and advance the nation’s role in next-generation nuclear power.
Under the agreement, Kairos’s Hermes 2 Plant in Oak Ridge will feed as much as 50 megawatts into the TVA grid that serves Google’s facilities.
The deal makes TVA the primary utility to buy power from a GEN IV reactor.
It also marks the primary deployment of Hermes 2 under Kairos’ broader pact with Google to deliver 500 megawatts by 2035.
Kairos plans to spice up Hermes 2’s output from 28 to 50 megawatts starting in 2030.
In October, Google signed a deal with Kairos to purchase nuclear power from ‘multiple’ small modular reactors under development.
The reactors “will likely be sited in relevant service territories to provide clean energy to Google data centers” starting in 203, Kairos Power said on the time.
Google said this week the reactor will supply electricity to its data centers in Montgomery County, Tennessee, and Jackson County, Alabama.
“With this next step, we’re making a three-party solution where energy customers, utilities, and technology developers work together to advance latest technologies that will help meet the world’s growing energy needs with reliable, inexpensive capability,” Google said.
“On this initial phase of the collaboration, we’ll procure clean energy attributes from the plant through TVA to assist power our data centers within the region with locally sourced clean energy, every hour of each day,” the corporate added.
Big Tech’s energy-hungry data centers, fueled by generative artificial intelligence, require massive amounts of electricity.
Those record energy needs have pushed U.S. power consumption to latest highs and fueled demand for next-generation nuclear.
The Google-Kairos deal will ultimately support 500 megawatts of advanced nuclear capability—enough to power about 350,000 homes.
Google isn’t alone in turning to nuclear.
Microsoft struck a 20-year power purchase agreement with Constellation last 12 months that would restart Three Mile Island’s Unit 1 reactor in Pennsylvania. Amazon announced three nuclear-focused deals in October with Energy Northwest, X-energy and Dominion Energy.
A GridStrategies report projects U.S. electricity demand will rise 15.8% by 2029, driven by data centers, manufacturing and electrification.
The International Energy Agency expects U.S. data center electricity use to leap 130% between 2024 and 2030.
FOX Business’ Aislinn Murphy and Reuters contributed to this report.
