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Yes—in principle. Small modular reactors (SMRs) could supply the firm, low-carbon electricity that AI data centres need, either at a dedicated site or through a grid-connected arrangement. But no evidence shows a commercial fleet already powering AI campuses at scale. The realistic path is a mixed supply portfolio through 2030, with new nuclear becoming more significant after 2030 as projects clear licensing, financing, construction and fuel hurdles.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects global electricity generation serving data centres to rise from 460 TWh in 2024 to more than 1,000 TWh in 2030 and 1,300 TWh in 2035 in its 2025 Base Case. Those are modelled outcomes, not guaranteed deliveries. They explain why technology companies and reactor developers are pursuing SMRs, but they do not turn announcements into operating plants.
Why AI data centres are looking for firm power
AI training and inference clusters can run continuously and concentrate very large electrical loads in one location. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) describes current data-cententre design requirements ranging from about 10 MW to 1 GW, with future facilities potentially reaching 4 GW or more. A campus of that scale needs more than an annual clean-energy claim: it needs dependable capacity, a suitable interconnection, cooling infrastructure, redundancy and a schedule that matches expansion.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallIn the IEA’s 2025 Energy and AI outlook, renewables meet nearly half of the additional electricity demand from data centres through 2030 in the Base Case. Natural gas and coal together meet more than 40% of that incremental demand. Nuclear starts to play a larger role toward the end of the decade and beyond. The forecast therefore describes a portfolio transition, not a sudden replacement of the grid by reactors.
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| IEA Base Case measure | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Global data-centre electricity generation, 2024 | 460 TWh | Starting point in the IEA’s 2025 model |
| Global data-centre electricity generation, 2030 | More than 1,000 TWh | Projected demand, not an observed or contracted total |
| Global data-centre electricity generation, 2035 | 1,300 TWh | Longer-term scenario outcome |
| Share of additional demand through 2030 met by renewables | Nearly half | Modelled contribution in the Base Case |
| Share met by natural gas and coal combined | More than 40% | Modelled physical supply, not operators’ contractual clean-energy mix |
The IEA’s fuel-mix analysis concerns electricity physically supplied to data centres, including grid generation. It is different from a company’s contractual matching of consumption with renewable certificates or power-purchase agreements.
What an SMR would actually do for an AI campus
“Small modular reactor” describes a family of designs rather than a single standard machine. The DOE’s current range runs from transportable microreactors through SMRs to large light-water reactors. The correct choice depends on the campus load profile, planned growth, redundancy requirement, grid connection and cooling system.
| Facility or generation option | DOE scale or description | Planning implication |
|---|---|---|
| Smaller transportable reactors | Microreactor class | Could serve a remote or security-critical load, but output and fuel needs must match the site |
| Current data-centre designs | About 10 MW to 1 GW | Some campuses could require one unit; others would need multiple units or grid support |
| Future very large campuses | Potentially 4 GW or more | Likely to require a generation portfolio, staged additions and substantial transmission or on-site capacity |
| Large light-water plants | Not an SMR category | May be relevant where an existing plant, restart or regional grid can provide power |
Potential advantages
- Modular construction is intended to allow more factory fabrication and repeatable deployment.
- A compact plant near a large customer could reduce some transmission requirements.
- Advanced designs may support co-location and greater grid independence for security-critical facilities.
- Steady nuclear output can complement variable wind and solar generation and reduce reliance on fossil generation during periods of low renewable production.
These are design objectives and potential benefits, not universal results. A co-located reactor still has to meet nuclear-safety rules, land-use requirements, physical-security obligations, cooling needs, interconnection rules and local permitting conditions.
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How soon could SMRs power data centres?
The broad official outlooks point to the 2030s, not an immediate deployment wave. The DOE says licensing, demonstration and deployment of new reactor designs will take years and expects widespread commercial advanced reactors in the 2030s. The IEA’s 2025 outlook expects the first U.S. SMRs to contribute to data-centre electricity after 2030.
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That timing is a sector-level expectation. It does not establish an operating date for any individual project. A proposal must progress through design certification or licensing, site approval, financing, supply-chain contracting, construction, fuel qualification, testing and grid or customer connection.
What the announced capacity numbers mean
The IEA reports that technology companies have announced plans to finance more than 20 GW of SMRs in the United States. A separate IEA nuclear outlook lists announced SMR plans of varying maturity totaling up to 25 GW, largely associated with data-centre demand. These figures represent planned or announced capacity, not installed reactors, firm contracted output or plants under construction.
The announcement list includes proposals associated with major technology companies, utilities and reactor developers. Their maturity differs: an expression of interest, memorandum, procurement plan, site selection, financing commitment and construction authorization are not interchangeable milestones.
U.S. projects selected under a DOE program
The DOE’s Gen III+ SMR program page says applications for its 2025 solicitation closed on April 23, 2025. Listed selections include the Tennessee Valley Authority’s plan to advance a GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 at the Clinch River site in Tennessee and Holtec’s plan to deploy two SMR-300 reactors at the Palisades site in Michigan. Selection indicates a funded project plan; it is not proof of a completed plant or a guaranteed commissioning date.
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Existing nuclear capacity may arrive sooner than new SMRs
Restarting an existing reactor or contracting power from an operating plant is a different strategy from building a first-of-a-kind SMR. Existing sites already have some combination of licensed land, cooling infrastructure, grid connections and operating experience, although a restart still requires regulatory review, safety work and financing.
In September 2024, Microsoft and Constellation announced a 20-year power-purchase agreement tied to restarting Three Mile Island Unit 1 for Microsoft’s data-centre operations. The agreement illustrates how a data-centre operator can seek firm nuclear supply without waiting for a new SMR design to complete its entire development path.
Another proposal involved buying a co-located data centre and up to 960 MW from the Susquehanna nuclear plant. The plan sought to add power behind the meter, but the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) put related efforts on hold over concerns about who would bear costs for transmission-system services and other utility customers. The episode shows that physical proximity does not eliminate grid and metering disputes.
The obstacles that determine whether an SMR is practical
Licensing and schedule risk
New reactor designs must pass regulatory review before construction and operation. Demonstration projects, environmental reviews, site approvals and inspections add time. A data-centre developer that needs capacity on a two- or three-year expansion cycle may not be able to align with a reactor schedule measured in years or decades.
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First-of-a-kind cost
Large up-front capital requirements can make the first units expensive. Factory fabrication and modular construction are intended to lower cost and shorten schedules through repetition, but those savings are objectives rather than a demonstrated, universal outcome. Financing terms, interest during construction, vendor experience and the ability to build multiple units strongly affect delivered power cost.
Fuel availability
Many advanced reactor designs require high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU). The DOE says the United States is working to secure uranium supply, including HALEU production. A reactor contract is therefore also a fuel-supply and logistics commitment; a licensed design cannot operate commercially without qualified fuel delivered on schedule.
Spent-fuel management
Every nuclear plant produces spent fuel. It must be cooled and stored safely while an interim or permanent disposal pathway is developed. A data-centre host must account for storage facilities, security, liability, transport and long-term institutional responsibilities in addition to the reactor itself.
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A behind-the-meter plant may appear to bypass transmission constraints, but it can still rely on the wider grid for backup, balancing, emergency support or exports. Regulators may need to decide how shared infrastructure is funded and how costs are allocated among the data-centre owner, the reactor operator, the utility and other customers.
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Cooling, land and physical security
AI campuses need substantial cooling capacity and high electrical reliability. A reactor site must accommodate its own cooling systems, exclusion zones, security arrangements, emergency planning and fuel or component logistics. The resulting land and infrastructure footprint may differ from the data-centre footprint, even when both are described as co-located.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How SMRs compare with the near-term alternatives
No source can be called a universal solution without examining the whole supply system. Compare proposals using the following dimensions:
| Decision axis | Questions to ask |
|---|---|
| Availability date | When can permitted, built and grid-connected capacity actually deliver power? |
| Firmness and operating profile | Can the source follow the campus load, and how will it work with storage, the grid and variable generation? |
| Delivered cost and risk | Who carries capital, financing, fuel, construction-delay and contract risks? |
| Emissions and physical supply | What electricity physically reaches the facility, separate from contractual clean-energy matching? |
| Siting and infrastructure | Are land, transmission, interconnection, cooling, security and logistics feasible? |
| Regulation and waste | Who holds the license, owns the plant, controls metering and manages spent fuel? |
Under the IEA Base Case, that comparison favors a portfolio in the near term: renewables provide a large share of new electricity, natural gas and coal remain significant through 2030, and nuclear—including SMRs—becomes more prominent later. Existing nuclear plants and restarts can bridge part of the gap where their regulatory and commercial conditions work.
A due-diligence checklist for an AI data-centre SMR proposal
- Define the load. Record present megawatts, peak demand, annual energy, power-quality requirements, redundancy and the timing of each expansion phase.
- Match the reactor output. Determine whether one unit, several modules, a microreactor, an existing plant contract or a hybrid portfolio fits the load without excessive surplus.
- Verify project maturity. Look for a named site, licensing pathway, vendor, fuel plan, financing structure, construction contract and credible operating milestone. Treat “announced” and “selected” as earlier stages than “licensed,” “under construction” or “operating.”
- Model grid dependence. Specify backup supply, outage procedures, transmission charges, import and export rights, metering and the treatment of behind-the-meter power.
- Price the full system. Include capital, financing, interconnection, cooling, security, fuel, insurance, decommissioning and spent-fuel obligations—not only the reactor’s quoted generation cost.
- Plan for delay. Secure an interim supply arrangement because a first unit may slip beyond the data-centre’s required energization date.
- Separate physical and contractual claims. State whether “clean power” describes electricity delivered at the site, a dedicated plant, hourly matching or an annual certificate arrangement.
What the evidence supports today
The evidence supports a cautious conclusion. SMRs are technically plausible sources of firm electricity for AI data centres, and official outlooks expect their contribution to grow after 2030. The scale of announced interest—more than 20 GW of U.S. plans and up to 25 GW of proposals of varying maturity—shows commercial intent, not completed supply.
“SMRs and other advanced nuclear reactors are well suited to play a key role for these companies, providing the flexible and reliable low carbon energy they need to run their operations”.
— Aline des Cloizeaux, Director of the IAEA Division of Nuclear Power, quoted in an October 2024 IAEA bulletin
For an AI operator making a near-term siting decision, the practical answer is to secure a diversified portfolio and evaluate nuclear on schedule, firmness, cost, infrastructure, regulation and waste—not on the reactor label alone. New SMRs may become an important part of that portfolio in the 2030s, but an announcement today is not yet power on the busbar.
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