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Commentary by: Jackson Avery
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
In the middle of an election preoccupied with a staggering 33% increase in energy prices since Joe Biden and Kamala Harris took over the White House, former President Donald Trump drew a consequential contrast to the Vice President: the Republican plans to center the expansion of nuclear power in the heart of his energy agenda.
At a rally last week in York, Pennsylvania, Trump talked about the importance of nuclear energy to not only power our submarines and aircraft carriers but also jump-start data center construction to help us compete on a global stage, making a promise to approve Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) rapidly.
He said: “We will make the historic commitment of bringing advanced small modular reactors online.”
This is a welcomed signal. According to the Washington Post, America is falling behind in the race for data centers, which is essential in developing new AI programs due to an increasing energy demand across the country.
One of the shortfalls in meeting the U.S.’s electrical needs has been the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The NRC is notorious for latency in approving the construction of new nuclear facilities.
The Atomic Energy Advancement Act, if signed into law, won’t be enough. Appointing pro-development members to the NRC who will strive to the fullest extent for the updated mandate of “the potential of nuclear energy to improve the general welfare and the benefits of nuclear energy technology to society ” is vital for nuclear reactor development.
America’s vulnerable and ill-equipped electrical grids fail to meet the energy requirements for powering data centers, which is why small modular reactors are so important. They are dedicated to a single data center’s complex, powering the whole facility regardless of what happens to the grid.
This will bypass any security threat launched through our electrical grid and relieve the stress from our already overburdened system, allowing the data centers to operate autonomously. Not to mention regain the ground lost in the race for AI development against China.
In his recent appearance on X (formerly Twitter) hosted by Elon Musk, Trump broached the issue of America’s energy crisis, acknowledging America needs to double its energy production to support data centers critical in AI creation. Given that the energy required to power one of the smaller facilities equals the average energy consumption of 700 households, we have to look for a better option.
Data centers aren’t just for AI production; they provide critical infrastructure that supports various industries, from healthcare and finance to manufacturing and retail. They enable businesses to operate smoothly and innovate continuously, ensuring reliable and efficient data storage and processing. American tech giants such as Google and AWS are investing billions in building data centers, with Microsoft planning to invest $100 billion alone.
Data centers are key to economic development and are the backbone of the growing global digital economy. These facilities house servers and networking equipment to store, process, and distribute data, which modern businesses and services rely on. Allowing states to conduct their own environmental review, for example, and submit it to the NRC for approval is a possible compromise between states and Washington, D.C.
These server farms fall into several categories, with the largest beginning at 100,000 sq. ft. and going up to several million sq. ft. These buildings house thousands of servers, all storing and processing information. The biggest of these data centers consumes over 100 MW of power, and with 264 currently operating, doubling the number of centers will create incredible strain.
SMRs are the solution to unburdening our electrical grid. Just one SMR produces 300 megawatts of power, more than enough to power the most extensive data centers. SMRs are designed to be highly customizable and transported to fulfill the needs of more remote or niche areas. This opens the possibility of more data centers being built anywhere across America, not just around specific infrastructure supporting data centers.
SMRs will also add another layer of protection against attacks by groups seeking to disrupt America’s economy and national security. SMRs silo off energy production also reduces the ability of foreign advisories that target America to hold, with the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack and ever-increasing blind spots in our electrical grid.
The Colonial Pipeline hack in May 2021 was one of the most significant cyberattacks on U.S. infrastructure, leading to widespread disruption in oil transportation. The pipeline, which supplies nearly half of the East Coast’s fuel, was shut down for several days, causing gasoline shortages, panic buying, and price spikes across the region. This is just the most flagrant attack.
America’s electrical grid is increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks, with the number of potential weak points in the system rising dramatically. According to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), these vulnerabilities have grown from 21,000-22,000 to 23,000-24,000 in just one year. NERC officials emphasized the importance of heightened vigilance, especially during election cycles when cyber attack risks tend to spike.
Small modular nuclear plants are the way forward, as they can supply the data center alone. Another Colonial Pipeline hack is always looming over the United States, threatening to halt our economy and shutting everything down. SMRs allow localized power grid protection instead of waiting for the byzantine federal regulators and lawmakers to safeguard data centers from secondary and tertiary threats.
President Trump has directly addressed what’s needed to fix our energy crisis: increasing construction of SMRs. The passing of the Atomic Energy Advancement Act will finally bring the NRC into the 21st century, but that only addresses the lag in our current regulatory bodies. We still need to address the energy concerns restricting data center construction. He must proactively advocate for NRC to promote these SMRs and allow states to take the mantle of responsibility in developing SMRs through the executive branch and working with Congress. By accomplishing this, America can maintain its edge in AI development and continue its dominance as the number one technology innovator.
Jackson Avery is a Research Fellow and Special Assistant to Economist Stephen Moore at Unleash Prosperity.
