Fission impossible? Meta wants up to 4GW of American atomic power for AI
(2024/12/05)
- Reference: 1733355008
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/12/04/meta_us_nuclear_power/
- Source link:
Meta believes it will need one to four gigawatts of nuclear power, in additional to the energy it already consumes, to fuel its AI ambitions. As such, it will put out a request for proposals (RFP) to find developers capable of supplying that level of electricity in the United States by early 2030.
"Advancing the technologies that will build the future of human connection — including the next wave of AI innovation — requires electric grids to expand and embrace new sources of reliable, clean and renewable energy," the Facebook parent company wrote in a [1]blog post announcing the RFP on Tuesday.
But while Meta plans to continue investing in solar and wind, hyperscalers seem convinced that harnessing the atom is the only practical means of meeting AI's thirst for power while making good on its sustainability commitments.
Also... The Instagram goliath in a separate announcement said it is [2]going to build a $10 billion AI data center in northeast Louisiana, USA, using Entergy to help provide the electricity for the massive site.
This wouldn't be the first time Meta has pursued nuclear fission power. As we previously reported, Meta had planned to build an atomic datacenter complex, but was [3]foiled after a rare species of bees were discovered on a prospective site, resulting in its cancellation.
Meta has become a leading developer of generative AI models with Llama 3.1 405B being among its most sophisticated. To support the development of these and future models, Zuckerberg has [4]committed to deploying some 600,000 GPUs, which require a prodigious amount of power to run.
[5]
As we understand it, additional details regarding the nature of the RFP will be provided to qualified companies. However, we do know that Meta is looking for someone to deploy between one and four gigawatts of nuclear power, suggesting they're still a little uncertain as to the extent of power that'll be required to achieve their goals and that these plans are destined for the US.
[6]
[7]
The blog post also mentions the prospect of deploying multiple units to cut costs. Given the timeline, this suggests that Meta is very likely looking at [8]small modular reactors (SMRs).
As their name suggests, SMRs are really just miniaturized reactors not unlike those found in nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers, which can be manufactured and co-located alongside datacenters and other industrial buildings.
[9]
Many hyperscalers and cloud providers faced with AI's energy demands have turned to SMRs for salvation, and there's certainly no shortage of options to choose from. Oklo, X-energy, Terapower, Kairos Power, and NuScale Power are just a handful of the companies actively developing reactor designs. However, it's worth noting that despite all the hype around these itty bitty reactors, nobody has actually managed to prove their commercial viability.
But with few alternatives that don't involve abandoning their lofty sustainability pledges, many datacenter operators are pushing ahead with power purchase agreements with SMR vendors. Most recently, Sam Altman-backed startup Oklo revealed it had [10]obtained letters of intent from two major datacenter providers to deliver 750 megawatts of power.
Amazon has also committed to investing in nuclear power. Back in October, the e-commerce and cloud giant [11]announced it was working with X-energy to construct several SMRs. Google, meanwhile, has [12]teamed up with Kairos on a similar plan, and Oracle [13]says it's obtained building permits for a trio of SMRs to power a one gigawatt datacenter campus.
[14]
However, it remains to be seen whether these plans will ever pan out. In addition to strict regulatory controls on nuclear power, the technology is seen by many as unsafe despite evidence to the contrary. Perhaps more pressing is the fact that SMRs, at least in the early days, won't be cheap.
[15]Investors just can't pull the plug despite datacenters facing AI power crunch
[16]Abandoned US Army 'city under the ice' imaged in serendipitous NASA find
[17]Japan looks to nuclear energy to power AI-powered datacenter boom
[18]AI's power trip will leave energy grids begging for mercy by 2027
Earlier this year, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis [19]argued that SMRs are "too expensive, too slow to build, and too risky to play a significant role in transitioning away from fossil fuels."
Of course, SMRs aren't Meta's only option here. Microsoft is working with Constellation Energy to bring the decommissioned Unit 1 reactor at Three Mile Island [20]back online . Meanwhile, Amazon earlier this year [21]purchased Talen Energy's Cumulus atomic datacenter co-located alongside the 2.5 gigawatt Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania for $650 million.
However, even existing nuclear infrastructure isn't a sure bet. This November, Amazon hit a [22]roadblock after federal regulators rejected a deal that would have let it increase its power draw at the site from 300 to 480 megawatts.
Bringing these plans online is by no means trivial. As we previously reported, the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan, which received a $1.5 billion loan from Uncle Sam, will [23]require substantial and costly repairs to its steam generator tubes. ®
Get our [24]Tech Resources
[1] https://sustainability.atmeta.com/blog/2024/12/03/accelerating-the-next-wave-of-nuclear-to-power-ai-innovation/
[2] https://www.entergynewsroom.com/news/meta-selects-northeast-louisiana-as-site-10-billion-data-center/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/04/meta_ai_datacenter_bee/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/20/metas_ai_plans/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Z1EzeBeb0I4Tip_FruBXFQAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z1EzeBeb0I4Tip_FruBXFQAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z1EzeBeb0I4Tip_FruBXFQAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/30/smr_nuclear_datacenter/
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z1EzeBeb0I4Tip_FruBXFQAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/14/datacenter_oklo_750mw/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/16/amazon_nuclear_smr/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/15/google_kairos_smr_nuclear_investment/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/11/oracle_1gw_datacenter_smr_plan/
[14] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z1EzeBeb0I4Tip_FruBXFQAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/27/investor_datacenter_energy_concern/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/25/camp_century_nasa_images/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/20/hokkaido_electric_power_nuclear_datacenter_ambition/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/13/datacenter_energy_consumption/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/03/small_modular_reactor_criticism/
[20] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/20/three_mile_island_nuclear_plant_microsoft_ai/
[21] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/04/amazon_acquires_cumulus_nuclear_datacenter/
[22] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/04/aws_nuclear_datacenter_ferc/
[23] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/04/michigan_nuclear_plant_restart_damage/
[24] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
"Advancing the technologies that will build the future of human connection — including the next wave of AI innovation — requires electric grids to expand and embrace new sources of reliable, clean and renewable energy," the Facebook parent company wrote in a [1]blog post announcing the RFP on Tuesday.
But while Meta plans to continue investing in solar and wind, hyperscalers seem convinced that harnessing the atom is the only practical means of meeting AI's thirst for power while making good on its sustainability commitments.
Also... The Instagram goliath in a separate announcement said it is [2]going to build a $10 billion AI data center in northeast Louisiana, USA, using Entergy to help provide the electricity for the massive site.
This wouldn't be the first time Meta has pursued nuclear fission power. As we previously reported, Meta had planned to build an atomic datacenter complex, but was [3]foiled after a rare species of bees were discovered on a prospective site, resulting in its cancellation.
Meta has become a leading developer of generative AI models with Llama 3.1 405B being among its most sophisticated. To support the development of these and future models, Zuckerberg has [4]committed to deploying some 600,000 GPUs, which require a prodigious amount of power to run.
[5]
As we understand it, additional details regarding the nature of the RFP will be provided to qualified companies. However, we do know that Meta is looking for someone to deploy between one and four gigawatts of nuclear power, suggesting they're still a little uncertain as to the extent of power that'll be required to achieve their goals and that these plans are destined for the US.
[6]
[7]
The blog post also mentions the prospect of deploying multiple units to cut costs. Given the timeline, this suggests that Meta is very likely looking at [8]small modular reactors (SMRs).
As their name suggests, SMRs are really just miniaturized reactors not unlike those found in nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers, which can be manufactured and co-located alongside datacenters and other industrial buildings.
[9]
Many hyperscalers and cloud providers faced with AI's energy demands have turned to SMRs for salvation, and there's certainly no shortage of options to choose from. Oklo, X-energy, Terapower, Kairos Power, and NuScale Power are just a handful of the companies actively developing reactor designs. However, it's worth noting that despite all the hype around these itty bitty reactors, nobody has actually managed to prove their commercial viability.
But with few alternatives that don't involve abandoning their lofty sustainability pledges, many datacenter operators are pushing ahead with power purchase agreements with SMR vendors. Most recently, Sam Altman-backed startup Oklo revealed it had [10]obtained letters of intent from two major datacenter providers to deliver 750 megawatts of power.
Amazon has also committed to investing in nuclear power. Back in October, the e-commerce and cloud giant [11]announced it was working with X-energy to construct several SMRs. Google, meanwhile, has [12]teamed up with Kairos on a similar plan, and Oracle [13]says it's obtained building permits for a trio of SMRs to power a one gigawatt datacenter campus.
[14]
However, it remains to be seen whether these plans will ever pan out. In addition to strict regulatory controls on nuclear power, the technology is seen by many as unsafe despite evidence to the contrary. Perhaps more pressing is the fact that SMRs, at least in the early days, won't be cheap.
[15]Investors just can't pull the plug despite datacenters facing AI power crunch
[16]Abandoned US Army 'city under the ice' imaged in serendipitous NASA find
[17]Japan looks to nuclear energy to power AI-powered datacenter boom
[18]AI's power trip will leave energy grids begging for mercy by 2027
Earlier this year, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis [19]argued that SMRs are "too expensive, too slow to build, and too risky to play a significant role in transitioning away from fossil fuels."
Of course, SMRs aren't Meta's only option here. Microsoft is working with Constellation Energy to bring the decommissioned Unit 1 reactor at Three Mile Island [20]back online . Meanwhile, Amazon earlier this year [21]purchased Talen Energy's Cumulus atomic datacenter co-located alongside the 2.5 gigawatt Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania for $650 million.
However, even existing nuclear infrastructure isn't a sure bet. This November, Amazon hit a [22]roadblock after federal regulators rejected a deal that would have let it increase its power draw at the site from 300 to 480 megawatts.
Bringing these plans online is by no means trivial. As we previously reported, the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan, which received a $1.5 billion loan from Uncle Sam, will [23]require substantial and costly repairs to its steam generator tubes. ®
Get our [24]Tech Resources
[1] https://sustainability.atmeta.com/blog/2024/12/03/accelerating-the-next-wave-of-nuclear-to-power-ai-innovation/
[2] https://www.entergynewsroom.com/news/meta-selects-northeast-louisiana-as-site-10-billion-data-center/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/04/meta_ai_datacenter_bee/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/20/metas_ai_plans/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Z1EzeBeb0I4Tip_FruBXFQAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z1EzeBeb0I4Tip_FruBXFQAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z1EzeBeb0I4Tip_FruBXFQAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/30/smr_nuclear_datacenter/
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z1EzeBeb0I4Tip_FruBXFQAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/14/datacenter_oklo_750mw/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/16/amazon_nuclear_smr/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/15/google_kairos_smr_nuclear_investment/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/11/oracle_1gw_datacenter_smr_plan/
[14] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z1EzeBeb0I4Tip_FruBXFQAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/27/investor_datacenter_energy_concern/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/25/camp_century_nasa_images/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/20/hokkaido_electric_power_nuclear_datacenter_ambition/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/13/datacenter_energy_consumption/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/03/small_modular_reactor_criticism/
[20] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/20/three_mile_island_nuclear_plant_microsoft_ai/
[21] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/04/amazon_acquires_cumulus_nuclear_datacenter/
[22] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/04/aws_nuclear_datacenter_ferc/
[23] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/04/michigan_nuclear_plant_restart_damage/
[24] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
LMRs maybe?
user555
Maybe those being built in Canada should be called Large Modular Reactors then.
Perhaps there's a ready solution.
nautica
There exists a manufacturer which is the first and only to have its design certified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission: Nuscale Power, founded in 2007. It is not a 'johnny-come-lately'; it has been working on a viable solution for a very long time.
Read about Nuscale [1]here.
[1] https://www.nuscalepower.com/en
There''s SMRs, and then there's SMRs
There are four SMRs already under construction just east of Toronto. These are 300 MW Hitachi designs, being constructed by a long established Canadian nuclear component supplier for a major utility. They are about the same size as the first generation of commercial reactors which were built in Canada (near by to these ones). They will use standard fuel from commercial suppliers. The economics and technology are not really an issue.
What is questionable is the very small SMRs being promoted by companies with no track record in the nuclear industry, no manufacturing facilities of their own, and which use specialized highly enriched fuel not available from existing commercial suppliers. These very small SMRs (100 MW or ever smaller) have very questionable economics as there are significant economies of scale in most power plants. They are simply too small and use very expensive non-conventional fuel.
If Meta want 1,000 to 4,000 MW, then three to a dozen or so 300 MW reactors could do the job for probably much less cost than the very small SMRs being promoted by some companies.
The whole point of a "small modular reactor" is the modularity, the "small" is just a way to get there. The idea is to build as much as possible in a factory and do the least amount of assembly on site. The company which can do that with the largest reactor will have the lowest operating costs.
What Meta should be doing is building their data centres in places which already have a good supply of electricity, instead of putting them in places with no electricity and then looking for someone to build power plants to serve them.
I expect that most of these micro-SMR companies will go out of business without having ever built an actual commercial reactor, while the companies offering ones in 300 MW and up sizes will be selling plenty to utilities.