Equinix has signed multiple agreements to source electricity from advanced nuclear providers for its data centers.

The US-based company operates and develops data centers globally.

Equinix’s deals include power purchase agreements for more than 1 gigawatt of electricity, with 500 megawatts planned from California-based Oklo.

It has also preordered 20 transportable microreactors from Radiant Nuclear, another California firm.

In Europe, Equinix has agreements to eventually buy power from next-generation nuclear developers ULC-Energy and Stellaria.

The company has also made fuel cell agreements with Bloom Energy, based in Silicon Valley.

Small modular reactors and similar advanced nuclear technologies are not yet commercially available in the US.

These agreements are part of Equinix’s long-term strategy to address the increasing energy demands of data centers, especially as generative AI and other technologies drive up power use.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Explosive AI demand creates unprecedented data center energy crunch

The surge in artificial intelligence applications is creating an energy challenge for data centers that traditional power sources struggle to meet.

AI data center power demand is projected to increase at a 122% compound annual growth rate through 2028, while overall data center electricity usage is expected to more than double by 203012.

This growth stems from AI’s significant computational requirements, as each AI query consumes more energy than traditional internet searches3.

The scale becomes clear when examining specific projects: OpenAI’s planned Stargate data center alone will require 1.2 gigawatts of capacity, enough electricity to power approximately one million homes1.

US data center consumption is expected to increase from 17 gigawatts in 2022 to 35 gigawatts by 2030, representing a doubling of capacity in less than a decade4.