The United States is currently facing a significant power crisis, according to Caroline Golin, an energy executive at Google’s parent company, Alphabet. The crisis is driven by the increasing demand for power as the tech industry grows, particularly due to the race to dominate artificial intelligence (AI), where the U.S. is competing with China. The rapid development of AI, alongside the need for data centers to support these technologies, has placed a significant strain on the country’s power grid.
A Growing Need for More Power
In a recent speech, Golin highlighted the critical issue: “We are in a capacity crisis in this country right now, and we are in an AI race against China,” she said at a conference hosted by the Nuclear Energy Institute. As AI technology continues to develop and evolve, it is becoming clear that more and more power is required to meet the demands of data centers, which use huge amounts of energy to process and analyze data. This growing demand has raised concerns, especially with the global competition between the U.S. and China in the AI field.
One of the challenges faced by the U.S. is ensuring a reliable and sufficient power supply to fuel this technological race. The energy sector has been working to meet these needs, but there is a growing realization that more capacity is needed in order to remain competitive. The situation is made worse by the fact that renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, which are important for reducing carbon emissions, are not always reliable due to their dependence on weather conditions. This issue has led some utilities to invest in natural gas as a backup power source.
The Shift Toward Nuclear Energy
Google, along with other tech giants, has been working hard to reduce its environmental impact by turning to renewable energy. The company set an ambitious goal to power its operations with carbon-free energy around the clock. However, the company soon realized that there were not enough renewable energy sources available to meet the needs of its growing data centers. Golin described the situation as a “very stark reality,” explaining that the U.S. did not have enough power capacity to meet the short-term needs of tech companies, let alone the long-term needs.
The rise of renewable energy sources in the U.S. has brought about grid instability. Wind and solar power have become more common, but their output depends on weather conditions, which can be unpredictable. As a result, some utilities began investing in carbon-emitting natural gas to back up renewable energy sources. Google’s energy team recognized that a more reliable and consistent form of energy would be necessary, leading them to consider nuclear energy as a potential solution.
Golin said, “We learned the importance of the developing clean firm technologies,” which are technologies that provide reliable, consistent power. Nuclear energy, in particular, was seen as an essential part of the future energy mix. However, despite the potential of nuclear energy, the U.S. has faced challenges in deploying nuclear power plants, including delays, cost overruns, and cancellations of large nuclear projects.
Google’s Partnership with Kairos Power
To help meet the energy needs of its data centers, Google has turned to nuclear energy and entered into a partnership with a company called Kairos Power. Last October, Google announced a deal to purchase 500 megawatts of power from small modular reactors that are being developed by Kairos Power. These small reactors are designed to be more efficient and easier to deploy than traditional nuclear power plants. They have smaller footprints and a more streamlined manufacturing process, which could help overcome the challenges that large nuclear projects face.
Small modular reactors are still in the early stages of development. While no small modular reactors are currently operational in the U.S., Google and Kairos Power plan to deploy their first reactor in 2030, with additional units coming online by 2035. The partnership is still in the pilot phase, and Golin mentioned that they were working with other partners to test the technology and gain support from electric utilities.
Kairos Power received approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build two small test reactors in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, with plans to test and refine the technology. The ultimate goal is to develop a solution that can be widely deployed to meet the power needs of the tech industry and beyond.
The Role of Nuclear Power in the Tech Industry
Nuclear power is expected to play an increasingly important role in providing reliable energy for the tech industry. As companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft continue to expand their data centers to support AI and other technologies, the demand for consistent power will only grow. Many in the nuclear industry see the tech sector as a potential catalyst for the revival of nuclear power, with some companies already investing in small modular reactors to meet future needs.
For example, Amazon announced an investment of over $500 million in small nuclear reactors just two days after Google’s partnership with Kairos Power was made public. Similarly, Constellation Energy, one of the largest energy companies in the U.S., revealed plans to bring the nuclear reactor at the Three Mile Island plant back online through a partnership with Microsoft.
The growing power needs of the tech industry could help restart old reactors and encourage the development of new nuclear plants. However, Golin acknowledged that nuclear power, while a long-term solution, is not a quick fix for the current power crisis. She explained that nuclear energy will not play a significant role in meeting the immediate power needs of the AI race against China over the next five years.
Addressing Power Needs in the Short Term
While nuclear energy has the potential to address the U.S.’s long-term energy needs, the immediate challenge is to ensure that there is enough power to meet the demands of the AI race. This issue is being recognized by government officials, including President Donald Trump, who declared a national energy emergency on his first day in office. Trump cited the need for reliable power as a central concern and promised to use emergency powers to expedite the construction of power plants, including those for AI data centers.
On February 5, 2025, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright issued an order prioritizing the commercialization of affordable and abundant nuclear energy. The government’s focus on nuclear energy is seen as a critical step in addressing the power capacity crisis and supporting the tech industry’s efforts to compete with China in the AI race.
