Data centers need clean, dependable power 24/7. You can’t build AI without data centers, and you can’t build data centers without access to power.
Traditionally, data centers have relied on the grid for primary power and Tier II diesel generators for backup. However, grid power is becoming a bottleneck due to the combination of current load growth and the anticipated increase in data center demand.
Additionally, backup diesel generators face mounting challenges from increasingly strict air quality regulations, particularly on large data center campuses.
One solution is to combine the advantages of small nuclear power plants, known as small modular reactors (SMRs), with the speed and operational flexibility of reciprocating natural gas generators (RNGG).
Together, these technologies give data center developers power in 24 months and a clear path to long-term, reliable, clean power.
Advantages of Small Modular Reactors
-
Lower Upfront Costs: SMRs are less expensive to build and involve lower capital risk compared to traditional large-scale reactors.
-
Speed to Market: SMRs can be deployed within 3-4 years, enabling quicker energy production.
-
Enhanced Safety: SMRs are designed to cool themselves without the need for external power, pumps, mechanical systems, or operator intervention during shutdown, ensuring inherent safety.
-
High Reliability: Utilizing multiple reactors provides greater reliability and redundancy.
-
Flexibility: Their smaller size allows for the synchronized development of energy infrastructure alongside digital infrastructure.
-
Compact Footprint: SMRs require only 3-4 acres of land per reactor, making them suitable for space-constrained sites.
Advantages of Reciprocating Natural Gas Generators
-
Reliable and Cost-Effective: RNGGs are reliable, cost-efficient, and can be constructed relatively quickly.
-
Lower Emissions: RNGGs produce more than 98% fewer emissions compared to traditional Tier II diesel backup solutions.
-
Rapid Start Capability: RNGGs offer fast start times, ranging from eight seconds to two minutes, depending on the model, and provide diesel-like transient response.
-
Supply Chain: In contrast to large-frame natural gas turbines, which are currently experiencing supply chain delays that extend into 2029, RNGGs (ranging from 3 MW to 20 MW each) offer modular scalability to achieve installations of several hundred megawatts, with commercial operation timelines as short as 18 to 24 months.
-
Fuel Efficiency: RNGGs boast a superior fuel efficiency profile compared to simple-cycle gas turbines and avoid significant performance degradation in high ambient temperatures.
-
Cleaner Energy Transition: RNGGs represent a substantial step toward cleaner power solutions.
SMRs + RNGG: A Faster Path to Data Center Revenue
Combining RNGG and SMRs gives data centers a faster path to revenue.
Based on a data center signing a power-purchase agreement to get access to power on an agreed schedule, here’s a phased plan to achieve 1 GW of power infrastructure on 60 acres:
-
Phase 1 (24 months): Deploy 225 MWe RNGG.
-
Phase 2 (48 months): Add two SMRs (capacities range from 50 to 100 MWe each).
-
Phase 3 (60+ months): Continue adding SMRs until reaching 1 GW of capacity. After the SMR capacity is installed, the RNGG becomes the resource that provides both load following, backup power service, and, if the grid connection is available, needed capacity back to the local community.
The small size and modularity of RNGGs and SMRs enable data center developers to synchronize energy infrastructure with digital infrastructure, making projects less risky and more capital efficient.
Existing Solutions are Suboptimal
Alternative approaches to powering the load growth fall short for reasons that are well understood.
Some industry veterans still think the solution is to build a new central power plant and transmission lines in the hopes of getting power where it’s needed, faster. The problem is that transmission lines take over a decade to build. Many local communities fight against them and file lawsuits that slow down new transmission line projects.
Other industry leaders think the solution is to build new wind and solar plants. Wind turbines and solar panels don’t produce emissions while operating, which makes them attractive power sources. But there are at least three problems with wind and solar:
-
The places that are rich in wind and solar resources are located far from the places where developers want to build data centers. Bridging the distance will require new transmission lines, and building those lines will likely take much longer and cost much more than many developers want.
-
Wind and solar plants require huge amounts of land. As a result, they destroy natural habitats and spark community backlash.
-
Wind and solar are intermittent power sources. Even under the best of circumstances, wind and solar cannot supply the 24/7 power that the data center requires.
Large nuclear plants could solve the problem. They produce no emissions while operating, require less material and land, and produce less waste than the alternatives. Unlike wind and solar, they’re reliable.
The challenge is that large nuclear projects typically take 10 plus years to build and require tens of billions of dollars in capital.
Will You Win?
To date, regulated utilities have been the main entities developing nuclear power plants. Few CEOs are willing to bet their companies – and their jobs – on that kind of project.
However, the race for AI supremacy has already begun. The combined strengths of SMR and RNGG enable speed to market and clean, dependable power 24/7. Whoever embraces this strategy first will win the race.
