Data centers and the nuclear option

With the UN chief recently declaring that it's "code red for humanity," it has never been more clear that immediate action is required on the part of governments and industry leaders to make big sustainability changes. Of course, the data center and digital infrastructure industries have caught on that significant and real changes to the way they operate are needed. Likewise, the European Union's energy-efficiency directive, 'Fit For 55,' is also pegged to have a big impact on the way data center operators conduct themselves. The directive seeks to reduce GHG by 55% by 2030 and would require operators to be more forthcoming about their environmental metrics and their efforts for improvement. Moreover, while this is European legislation, many argue this is going to initiate "a wave of legislation" globally.

As such, each day, another operator announces a new pledge to go carbon-neutral, but as the recent NewClimate Institute report outlined, many of these pledges are lacking in substance and failing to deliver. Yet, as pressure on big tech increases, it appears the industry is looking towards nuclear as the answer to its prayers.

At a recent webinar on the Uptime Institute's forecasts for the industry, North American Vice President Matt Stansberry, said that this year, the institute expects industry influencers and leaders to "start supporting nuclear more actively and openly," publicly endorsing it as a "carbon-neutral power source." This is, of course, despite nuclear being far from a plausible alternative to renewable energy sources. Nuclear is not a clean energy source. As outlined by Public Citizen, the process of "mining, milling, and enrichment of uranium into nuclear fuel" is not just massively energy-intensive but also results in carbon dioxide emission. It also has a huge waste problem, generating between 20 to 30 tons of high-level nuclear waste annually, and remaining "dangerously radioactive" for 250,000 years. The building of reactors is also hugely expensive, going into the billions. However, regardless, it appears the industry is looking towards nuclear as a "stopgap."

Scott Killian, Uptime Institute's vice president for product management, commented: "The consensus that we've heard from our members is that there probably isn't a way to get there, globally, without coming up without getting back to nuclear."