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Prompts and queries with generative AI are computed through data centres that also handle thousands, if not millions, of queries at the same time. Quite many companies including Meta have appeared to believe that nuclear power is an answer to possible limited power in the long future.
To meet increasing data centre demands, Meta has initiated a request for the developers of nuclear power plants to supply 1 to 4 GW of electricity generating capacity in the U.S. Got this after the social network’s earlier plan to construct a data centre near an active nuclear power station was said to have been blocked due to environmental issues. The California-based company, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is pleased to fund the first stages of development and can guarantee demand once the reactors are built. However, the company has set tentative deadlines for its pledges as early as the initial proposals of the second week of February during 2025 with both the plants going online during the early 2030s.
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Now, Meta does not care so much where it wants to put new nuclear power plants as those that would supply the electric grids that serve its servers and other users. This malleable structure might assist Meta in overcoming the regulation that has halted its previous attempt and also stifled attempts by other firms like Amazon.
That Meta will be capable of meeting this timeline at all remains uncertain. Still, it is far from being the only company pursuing similar objectives, however. For instance, Amazon’s corporate vision is to fully transition its operations to 100% renewable energy within the next three years by 2025. Microsoft is also now attempting to move forward with its own somewhat more questionable plans for nuclear energy. But that power generation would probably be more useful towards displacing coal, natural gas, and other sources that emit more, rather than become amusing Facebook memes, anyways.
