New Era Energy (NEE.US) CEO John Ketchum stated this week that by 2040, the United States will need to add 900 GW to meet demand, with nuclear power potentially only providing a small fraction, and new technologies such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) still not being economical. Ketchum said during the company's third-quarter earnings call: "Only a few nuclear power plants can be restarted in an economical way, but even if the success rate of these restarts reaches 100%, we still can only meet less than 1% of the (new) demand."

Jefferies analysts had previously stated that despite potential challenges such as regional wind resource competition, they expected New Era Energy to announce an agreement to restart the Duane Arnold nuclear power plant in Iowa during the call. The anticipated news did not materialize, but Ketchum indicated that the Duane Arnold nuclear power plant could be one of the few that could be reopened and operated economically.

Ketchum expressed that he is "not optimistic" about Small Modular Reactor technology, and the company's internal team dedicated to SMR has not yet reached a favorable conclusion about the technology.

Advertisement

The CEO also questioned the availability of nuclear fuel in the United States, adding that even if the cost of renewable energy continues to decline, SMRs remain "very expensive." Ketchum stated: "We are currently prioritizing other power generation resources. Renewable energy technology takes quite a long time here."

AI "power consumption" is fierce, and tech giants are investing heavily in small nuclear reactors.

Recently, the surge in artificial intelligence and other computing has driven the booming development of power-hungry data centers, which helps to boost electricity demand for the first time in decades. Oklo (OKLO.US), a small nuclear power station developer funded by OpenAI, says that small nuclear power stations and data centers are an ideal combination. As investors view nuclear energy as the next AI deal opportunity, U.S. stock market nuclear power stocks have recently seen a significant increase, especially small nuclear reactor companies like Oklo and NuScale Power (SMR.US).

Last week, the United States was also negotiating with several Southeast Asian countries on the deployment of small modular nuclear reactors. Andrew Light, Assistant Secretary of Energy for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy, said that U.S. officials have discussed this issue with officials from the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. He told reporters at the Singapore International Energy Week conference held on Tuesday that the United States can "have intergovernmental discussions on the current small reactor array."

Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) aim to produce energy that is cheaper, faster, and more environmentally friendly than traditional nuclear facilities. Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are a relatively new method of nuclear power generation. Compared to traditional nuclear power plants, SMRs are more compact in design, have a short construction period, controllable costs, and higher safety. The core advantage of SMRs lies in their flexibility and scalability. Compared to large nuclear power plants, SMRs can be built in modules, suitable for small-scale and dispersed power grids, and more capable of meeting the power needs of emerging markets and remote areas.

With the rise in power demand from data centers, manufacturing, and broader economic electrification, small modular nuclear reactors are a new design that is expected to accelerate the deployment of reliable, carbon-free energy. Generally, these reactors have a capacity of 300 megawatts or less, about one-third of the typical reactors in the United States. They will be prefabricated in several pieces and then assembled on-site, thereby reducing the high capital costs that hinder large factories.

Thanks to the convenience of this technology, leaders in the AI field have also invested heavily in this area. Previously, Google announced that it had signed an agreement with Kairos Power to purchase electricity from the latter's planned 6-7 small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) with a total capacity of 500 megawatts to meet the growing power demand. Transaction details show that the two parties have signed a power purchase agreement, with Kairos planning to deliver the reactors between 2030 and 2035, and the construction site has not yet been determined.Amazon has also indicated its investment in small nuclear reactors, having signed an agreement with Dominion Energy to explore the development of small modular nuclear reactors near Dominion's existing North Anna nuclear power station.

In the meantime, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission held its first public meeting on Friday with Constellation Energy Group (CEG.US) regarding the plan to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. Constellation Energy Group plans to restart the 835 MW Unit 1 by 2028 and intends to sell the energy generated by the reactor to Microsoft (MSFT.US).

Oracle (ORCL.US) Chairman and co-founder Larry Ellison also stated last month that the company is designing a data center that will require over 1 gigawatt of power; he added that the data center will be powered by three small nuclear reactors.

So far, no decommissioned reactor has been restarted; the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan is also in the process of returning to operation, with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission revealing that there have been no challenges in the plant's resumption of operation.