Data centers, the things that physically store and share applications and data, require an enormous amount of energy to run. These giant storage units, responsible for 1-1.5% of global electricity consumption, have traditionally relied on renewable sources like solar and wind but it seems as though renewable energy just won’t be able to keep up with the demand required moving forward.
Putting aside the jokes, this is a pretty good idea. Dedicated renewable energy sources for data centers have some real problems (expansion, power transmission, land use in areas ideal for data centers, peak loads for data centers out of synch with, blahblahblah etc). With nobody anticipating the demand for data services will suddenly stop growing exponentially, because that would be silly, this is a prudent step forwards. I think we ca all agree that reducing the operating costs, reducing the strain on local power grids and furthering societal acceptance of modern small-scale nuclear power plants are all pretty valuable ideas.
(and for what its worth, Microsoft contracts with NIF - they’re already involved with the design of nuclear weapons, a thorium reactor (which would be DOE managed anyways) is a bit less concerning)
It’s a somewhat less attractive investment when compared against other renewable sources. Nuclear is orders of magnitude more expensive than solar per kwh now that prices have fallen
Yes, though I think the point here is that solar spectacularly loses on MW/SF compared to a nuclear facility. Data centers consume an unbelieveable amount of power. Being able to locate them closer to population centers is a huge benefit to them operationally. Modern nuclear reactors are hugely expensive, but the proposal here is for small, limited scope facilities. Expensive, yes, but this is an excellent use case for them and would do wonders at piloting their broader acceptance / proven tech.
Are there flaws? Plenty. But at its core it’s not a bad idea.
Land use and energy storage requirements beg to differ