Tech Giants Face Regulatory Challenges in Nuclear Power Plans for Data Centers

According to TechCrunch, major technology companies such as Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft are investing heavily in nuclear power to meet the growing electricity demands of their data centers, driven by advancements in AI and cloud computing. However, recent regulatory decisions have complicated these plans, highlighting the difficulties of securing new electricity sources for large-scale data centers. Amazon and Meta have encountered significant obstacles in their efforts to utilize nuclear power. Meta's initiative to construct an AI data center adjacent to an operational nuclear power plant has faced regulatory challenges. CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed in a company meeting that one issue involved the discovery of a rare bee species on the proposed site, as reported by the Financial Times. This adds to the broader environmental concerns, as many bee populations are already vulnerable due to pesticide exposure and other factors. Amazon's project to establish a hyperscale data center near the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania has also faced setbacks. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recently voted against expanding an existing power agreement that would have allowed Amazon to directly connect to the plant. The decision was based on concerns that the data center's power consumption could lead to decreased reliability and increased costs for other customers in the region. This ruling underscores the ongoing challenges in balancing the power needs of large data centers with regional electricity grid stability. Meanwhile, Microsoft's plans to reactivate a reactor at Three Mile Island are still progressing, indicating that not all nuclear power projects are facing the same level of regulatory resistance. However, the situation with Amazon and Meta suggests that FERC will continue to play a critical role in evaluating power agreements for hyperscale data centers, with several more co-location requests awaiting review. These developments illustrate the complex landscape tech companies must navigate as they seek sustainable energy solutions for their expanding data operations.