AI power demand surges! Gates says will invest billions of dollars to build nuclear power plants

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates revealed that he will continue to invest billions of dollars in the "next generation" of nuclear power plants in Wyoming, USA, to meet the country's growing electricity needs.

Gates stated in a weekend CBS program that TerraPower, a nuclear energy company he founded and chairs, broke ground last week in Wyoming to build its first commercial nuclear reactor, as a local coal-fired power plant recently closed down.

Gates mentioned that coal is being replaced by natural gas, and their goal is to effectively compete with natural gas. Gates is deeply committed to nuclear power construction, stating, "I have invested over a billion dollars in TerraPower and will invest billions more."

According to public information, the TerraPower nuclear plant project was approved by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission in May this year. It is the first commercial "non-light water" reactor to reach this stage in the United States in over 40 years, and is considered a "next generation" nuclear power plant project in the US. As reported by The New York Times, the project uses liquid sodium instead of water as a coolant, theoretically resulting in shorter construction time, lower operating costs, and no carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to rapid global warming during power generation.

The TerraPower nuclear plant project has received support from the US Department of Energy and is initially expected to start operating in 2028. Gates mentioned that TerraPower plans to purchase nuclear reactor fuel from the US and its allied countries.

Carbon-free nuclear power is increasingly seen as a key solution to climate change, with many companies deploying small nuclear reactors. Bloomberg data shows that at COP28 climate change conference held in Dubai last year, 25 countries announced ambitious goals to double nuclear power generation.

AI Power Demand Surges, Microsoft Bets on Nuclear Power Generation

As Microsoft further develops in AI and supercomputing, to meet the massive power demand, Microsoft is accelerating the deployment of nuclear power. The electricity consumption of a new data center is equivalent to that of tens of thousands of households, and nuclear power can provide power around the clock.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also told CNBC last year that to address the increasing energy demand from AI, nuclear power may be the best solution.

As early as 2008, Gates invested in founding TerraPower and has since continuously supported the company's development. In June this year, Microsoft partnered with a leading energy company in the US with the most nuclear power plants, which will provide "second-precision" power supply to Microsoft's Virginia data center.

The energy company estimates that with the explosion of AI, the power demand of data centers will be 5 to 6 times that of electric vehicle charging demand