Nuclear to the Rescue: How Nuclear Technology Can Help Decouple Energy Consumption and Emissions in the AI Boom

Cooling towers of a nuclear power facility in Tennessee on a sunny day.

Electricity demand is growing globally – a positive trend since rising electricity consumption is correlated with rising living standards.

While demand growth stalled in the last decade in North America, projections in early 2020 were already showing renewed growth going forward. Couple this with recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data center use, and we are left with what is shaping up to be supercharged electricity demand, with one study putting the additional demand by 2028 potentially equivalent to the output from 15 to 40 new nuclear reactors.

Reliable, 24x7, large-scale electricity generation is highly valued. Nuclear meets these requirements and is at the same time proven and low carbon. The recent resurgence of nuclear comes with heightened demand for uranium fuel, as well as a range of innovations, one of which is Small Modular Reactors – SMRs. The first SMR to start construction in North America is in Ontario, Canada.

While being a first mover carries risks, its owner, Ontario Power Generation – OPG, intends not only to generate clean, reliable electricity at scale but also position itself and its local suppliers to be key participants in the future rollout of SMRs globally.

Download a paper to learn more about nuclear SMRs and their potential role in meeting future demand for power.

FULL REPORT

Compares four leading technologies for producing electricity – natural gas, solar plus storage, wind plus storage and nuclear – across six parameters: levelized cost of electricity, generation technology, storage technology, power, land use and emissions.

David Dal Bello, Managing Director, Global Co-Head, Power, Utilities & Infrastructure, BMO Capital Markets, contributed thoughtful comments to this paper.