Google announced the next step in its nuclear energy plans 

Google approaches one step to reach its nuclear ambitions now after it works with Tennesse Valley Authory (TVA) in the benefit of public energy to purchase electricity from the next generation reactor. It is the first energy purchase agreement for advanced technology provided by the American tool, according to companies.

The plan is to purchase TVA electricity from a reactor that is developed by the Kairos Power engineering company in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Once the reactor is operated, it is expected in 2030, it should start providing electricity to the local network that serves the Google Data centers in Tennessee and Albama.

If they can withdraw all this, this may help start a completely new era of nuclear energy in the United States. The current nuclear reactors fleet in the country uses a technology of contracts that are fighting to compete with cheap electricity from gas stations, solar energy and wind farms. Kairos Power builds one of the first reactors that supporters hope to be able to create nuclear energy, and meet the growing demand for electricity from Big Tech and AI.

Oak Ridge, Tennessee – where Kiros was building Hermes 2 – was previously the headquarters of the Manhattan Project. Now, instead of housing facilities that enrich uranium for the first atomic bombs, Oak Ridge has become a center for nuclear energy and research projects.

Ultimately, Google aims to help Kairos to deploy 500 megawatts of the new nuclear capacity in the United States by 2035. For context, 94 nuclear reactors in America had 97,000 MW in 2024, and it represented less than 20 percent of the US electricity mix. Hermes 2 is supposed to reach 50 MW capacity.

Companies that generate electricity free from carbon pollution, such as nuclear energy and renewable energy, can earn money by selling the electricity they provide to the power network and By selling the so -called clean energy features that resemble separate certificates that represent the environmental benefits to avoid fossil fuel emissions. Google will receive clean energy features from the Hermes 2 factory through TVA.

Climate targets of technology often buy clean energy features to try to cancel pollution caused by electricity use. By matching the use of electricity with these certificates, the company may claim that it works on clean energy even if it is connected to a power network that is still working on dirty energy. Additional income is assumed that the clean energy features of developers will help add more pollution -free energy to the network (although research has shown that environmental benefits are often exaggerated). Carbon emissions from Google increased again last year as it increased artificial intelligence shows.