The surge in artificial intelligence is fueling a renewed push for nuclear energy, as major tech companies seek reliable, large-scale power solutions to keep up with skyrocketing electricity demands.
Amazon, Google, and Meta have thrown their weight behind a global effort to dramatically expand nuclear power capacity, signing a petition that calls for tripling nuclear energy production by 2050. The initiative, announced by the World Nuclear Association during the CERAWEEK energy conference in Houston, emphasizes the need for a stable energy source that isn’t dependent on weather conditions or geography.
“Governments must ensure equal access to financing for nuclear and other energy sources to allow for large-scale deployment,” the petition stated. Sama Bilbao y León, director of the World Nuclear Association, called the move just the beginning, hinting that more major energy consumers may join the pledge in the future.
The timing couldn’t be more critical. As artificial intelligence adoption accelerates, the infrastructure needed to power it is straining existing grids. A report from the US Energy Department estimates that data centers currently account for about 4.4% of the country’s electricity use—a figure that could triple to 12% by 2028. AI-driven systems require significantly more power than traditional computing tasks, with a single AI chatbot query consuming up to ten times more electricity than a standard Google search.
The tech industry’s embrace of nuclear energy coincides with a major development in Pennsylvania, where Constellation Energy is fast-tracking the restart of the Three Mile Island (TMI) Unit 1 nuclear reactor. The company has signed a 20-year power agreement with Microsoft to supply its AI data centers with clean, carbon-free electricity.
Joe Dominguez, CEO of Constellation, expressed confidence in the project’s revival, saying, “Every new milestone confirms that the Crane Clean Energy Centre can return to service better than ever, providing 835 megawatts of much-needed carbon-free energy to the regional grid.” The project is expected to generate thousands of jobs and boost Pennsylvania’s energy independence.
However, the decision to restart operations at Three Mile Island is not without controversy. The site was home to one of America’s worst nuclear accidents in 1979, when a partial meltdown of Unit 2 led to widespread panic, an emergency evacuation, and years of cleanup efforts. The memory of that disaster, along with the infamous Chernobyl explosion in 1986 and the Fukushima crisis in 2011, has left many wary of nuclear power’s risks.
“You cannot erase or rewrite history,” said Eric Epstein, director of Three Mile Island Alert, a grassroots organization advocating for nuclear safety. The debate over nuclear energy remains deeply personal for communities that have witnessed its failures firsthand.
Yet, as the AI revolution reshapes industries and intensifies demand for electricity, tech giants are positioning nuclear power as an essential part of the future energy mix. The question remains: can nuclear energy shed its troubled past and emerge as the backbone of the digital age?