Google announces first nuclear site to power its data centers

Google, a leading tech company, has announced the site for its first nuclear reactor to power its data centers. The Oak Ridge facility in Tennessee will be home to the Hermes 2 plant, which will provide 50 megawatts of power to Google's data centers in Tennessee and Alabama under a long-term agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The Oak Ridge plant is the first in a 500-megawatt deal between Google and the startup Kairos Power, which includes multiple small modular reactors (SMRs) to supply power for Google's data centers. The Hermes 2 reactor is scheduled to begin operations in 2030. The TVA CEO, Don Moul, stated that nuclear power is the foundation of future energy security and that Google's involvement in the project helps to shoulder the burden of the cost and risk for first-of-a-kind nuclear projects, rather than passing the development costs on to customers. The financial details of the deal between Google and Kairos Power have not been disclosed, but the agreement is expected to reach its full 500 MW potential by 2035, marking the first-ever corporate deal to buy nuclear power from SMRs.