7 Ways Nuclear Data Centers Could Affect Consumers

Even though consumers’ electricity consumption has remained relatively unchanged for decades, energy demand is increasing. Energy-hungry data centers, concentrated in a handful of states, are consuming grid power at an unprecedented rate. Tech giants have turned to nuclear power for clean, accessible energy.

Nuclear power offers a reliable, emissions-free alternative to fossil fuels and renewable energy. If the companies’ proposals are accepted and their plans move forward, nuclear data centers could become the norm. How would this change impact the average person? The implications are vast and significant.

1. Reduce electricity network maintenance costs

Data centers are energy hungry. They consume more energy per floor space than typical commercial office buildings, by a factor of 10 to 15, according to the U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. Today, most of the electricity they need comes directly from the power grid.

A nuclear-powered data center produces electricity independently, reducing the amount of electricity generated, transformed, and distributed through the grid. This way it experiences less wear and tear, making maintenance less urgent. Although the infrastructure will soon need to be updated, the initial costs will be lower.

2. Improve data center performance

Facilities filled to the brim with racks of servers, networking equipment, and data storage systems generate a lot of heat. If computer hardware becomes too hot, its performance deliberately deteriorates to avoid damage to internal components. Whether facility operators use industrial fans or non-conductive liquids, their cooling system requires a lot of energy. It is important to ensure that all equipment receives the proper airflow and that components are operating at optimal levels.

With nuclear power, facility operators can operate their cooling systems without worrying about the strain their energy consumption puts on the power grid. Lower, more consistent temperatures mean their equipment will work better, improving performance. For end users, this means higher speeds, less lag and fewer service interruptions.

3. Accelerate technological development

Data centers are popping up across the country due to advancements in cloud and artificial intelligence solutions. For example, more than 90% of organizations have already adopted cloud computing technology. This global push has tech giants racing to corner the market. Unfortunately, they need a lot of electricity for this.

These technologies are popular but incredibly resource-intensive: AI alone consumes 10-20% of all energy used by the country’s data centers. Limited computing power could theoretically stagnate progress in this area.

Nuclear is one of the few clean energy sources capable of handling these resource-intensive technologies – renewable energy production is simply far too inconsistent. This would support domestic technology companies, helping the United States dominate global AI and cloud computing markets.

4. Make neighborhoods less noisy

Servers, networking equipment and industrial cooling systems are noisy. A conventional data center operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, constantly producing 55 to 85 decibels. For reference, that’s about as loud as an alarm clock or a lawn mower. By far, it’s not enough to be annoying. However, the noise is often much closer.

In Virginia — the nation’s hub for data center construction — a county has approved plans for a 70-foot-tall facility about 50 feet from a mobile home community. Having the equivalent of a riding lawn mower constantly running nearby isn’t exactly a pleasant idea.

Currently, facility operators are building wherever they can find space. As there are few rural areas where network connections are available, they are often found next to communities. Nuclear could provide direct, independent connections, meaning there would be no need to build so close to people’s homes. Instead, they could build where it made the most sense.

5. Mitigate the effects of climate change

Experts estimate that the appetite for power-hungry data centers will soon increase, and predict that they will consume 32 gigawatts (GW) of electricity by 2029, up from 21 GW in 2024. Today, most Of the country’s electricity supply comes from non-renewable energies such as coal, oil or natural gas. Above all, there simply aren’t enough wind or solar farms where data center development is growing.

Each GW is roughly the amount generated by a single nuclear power plant, meaning facility operators will need to build, reopen or use 32 plants by 2029 if they plan to avoid fossil fuels. As there are already 54 operating in the country, clean energy is within our reach. This decision would significantly reduce direct greenhouse gas emissions.

6. Provide 24-hour power

Just like data centers, nuclear power plants operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Since they are designed to withstand bad weather, unplanned outages simply don’t happen. They also operate at full capacity 90% of the time, making them approximately 1.5 times more reliable than natural gas and up to 3.5 times more reliable than renewable energy. As a result, people don’t have to worry about power outages as often.

7. Make utility bills more affordable

If the nation’s power grid were a person, she would barely be old enough to retire. Much of it was built in the 1960s and 1970s. Even though consumers’ electricity consumption has remained relatively unchanged over the past decades, outages are becoming more frequent due to the wear and tear of energy infrastructure.

If current trends continue, local power companies will soon supply most of their electricity to data centers, even if those facilities represent only a fraction of their customer base. Consumers will bear the excess costs, paying hundreds of dollars per year on top of their average electricity bill.

If facility operators rely on nuclear power rather than direct grid connections, local power companies will save on generation, transmission and distribution if they do not have to hand over the bulk of their supply to data centers. These savings will translate into lower utility bills for consumers. Not to mention, costs will fluctuate less often because nuclear is resilient to supply changes.

A nuclear future for data centers

Nuclear power plants could provide facility operators with location flexibility, reduce costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These changes would impact consumers, reducing their utility bills, making their neighborhoods less noisy and improving service performance. At the rate things are moving, this future will likely come to fruition within the next decade.