The New Nuclear Renaissance

As Technology Companies announce their desire and need for Small Modular Nuclear Reactors to reach future power demands and clean energy goals, the industry is on the verge of a new nuclear renaissance. This resurgence of growth is different from previous attempts due to factors that weren’t previously part of the equation: 1. The mass global need and desire for CLEAN AND RELIABLE ENERGY and 2. INCREASED POWER DEMAND due to Artificial Intelligence.

Currently, governments around the world as well as a number of industries are attempting to find ways to create and use carbon-free power generation to reduce environmental impact. Over the last several decades, there has been significant growth in the use of intermittent power generation from wind and solar. Several Technology Companies now desire increased baseload capacity with operating reliabilities near 100% of the time, for which nuclear generation is ideal.

Where clean energy opened the door for a resurgence of nuclear power, AI and Technology Companies are realizing nuclear power as the potential fuel for more robust and reliable power generation. Generally, people understand AI requires more power, but do not realize how much power is required to meet the ever-growing demand.

For example, every time a user inputs a prompt, ChatGPT’s massive language model processes the search request using an estimated 2.9 Wh of energy. That’s nearly ten times more energy than a single Google search. With around 200 million queries daily, this adds up to about 621.4 MWh of energy every day.

Forbes reported the most recent graphic processing units (GPUs), which are the building blocks of AI Data Centers, will require 75% more power than earlier generation GPUs. The GPUs expected to be placed into operation over the next 2 years are expected to increase electrical demand from AI by approximately 300%. NOTE: This is a conservative estimate based on data from the next single generation of GPUs.

Forbes also reported current shipments of Nvidia’s Data Center GPUs would see power consumption of 13.1 TWh annually. This additional AI power consumption is equivalent to roughly the same power consumption of 1.3 million households. There will be greater AI usage over the next several years as it is rapidly becoming the dominate form of internet search, leading to even further energy demand.

It’s an exciting time to be in the nuclear industry. Let’s embrace the New Age of the Nuclear Renaissance and the hard work ahead of us to make it happen! As a leading engineering and environmental services firm, ENERCON is prepared to support clients throughout the energy sector and data center mission critical facilities.

Cheers to CLEAN AND RELIABLE ENERGY and the need for MORE POWER!

We have much to look forward to as we Engineer America’s Energy Transition in 2025!

About ENERCON

Enercon Services, Inc. is a multi-discipline engineering and environmental services firm focused on delivering safe and efficient solutions for the power and industrial sectors. With offices across the country, ENERCON’s engineering capabilities cover a wide range of disciplines and expertise including Electrical, I&C, Mechanical, Civil Structural, Chemical, Environmental and Special Licensing. Together with our clients, ENERCON is dedicated to Engineering America’s Energy Transition. For additional information, please review our website or select CONTACT US below:

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