(Zero Hedge)—Following the news of the Three Mile Island restart plans to power Microsoft’s AI data centers and the revival of Holtec’s Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan, Google CEO Sundar Pichai revealed in an interview with Nikkei Asia in Tokyo on Thursday that the tech giant is exploring the use of nuclear energy as a potential ‘green’ source to power its data centers.
“For the first time in our history, we have this one piece of underlying technology which cuts across everything we do today,” Pichai said of generative AI. He said, “I think the opportunity to do well here is something we are leaning into.”
Three years ago, Google released plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030. However, the proliferation of AI data centers has led to a surge in the big tech’s power consumption, which, in return, its greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 jumped 48% more than in 2019 on a carbon-dioxide equivalent basis.
Behind the scenes, Google is likely scrambling to secure green energy and curb emissions as 2030 quickly approaches.
“It was a very ambitious target,” Pichai said of the net-zero emissions targets, “and we will still be working very ambitiously towards it. Obviously, the trajectory of AI investments has added to the scale of the task needed.”
He continued, “We are now looking at additional investments, such as solar, and evaluating technologies like small modular nuclear reactors, etc.”
Nikkei noted that Pichai wasn’t clear on where Google might start sourcing nuclear power. A bulk of that power could come from reviving older nuclear power plants. This is exactly what Microsoft did when it signed a power agreement contract with dormant Three Mile Island on the Susquehanna River near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Recall that just last week, we wrote that Sam Altman-backed Nuclear SMR company Oklo announced it had finalized an agreement with the Department of Energy to advance the next phase of the SMR at the Idaho National Lab. And days ago, the Biden administration closed a $1.52 billion loan with Holtec’s Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan to revive it.
Sachem Cove Partners Chief Investment Officer Michael Alkin told Bloomberg shortly after the Microsoft-Three Mile Island deal, “It’s a wake-up call to those that have not been paying attention,” adding that demand already outstrips the supply of uranium and the restart of Three Mile Island “takes that to a bit of a different level.”
Also, the funding markets are becoming more receptive to nuclear deals as governments and big tech understand the only way to hit ambitious net zero goals is not with solar and wind but with nuclear power. In late December 2020, we outlined to readers that this would happen in a note titled “Buy Uranium: Is This The Beginning Of The Next ESG Craze?”
Furthermore, here’s Goldman’s latest note on uranium prices, which are only expected to “stairstep” higher over time.
Trump Denies “Fake News” Report on Changes to Economic Plans
by Publius
President-elect Donald Trump has refuted a Washington Post report suggesting his aides were considering a more restrained tariff policy. The report claimed that Trump’s transition team was contemplating a tariff plan that would be less extensive than his campaign promises, targeting only imports deemed critical to national or economic security….
Gold Breaks Out With Central Bank Surge and Interest Rate Drops Expected
by Sponsored Post
Precious metals are seeing gains once again following the post-election dip, just as many economists had expected. Even China, which had been holding back for five months, returned to purchasing massive quantities of gold. “Falling U.S. interest rates and ongoing solid demand from central banks are supporting the gold price,”…
JPMorgan: “Debasement Trade” Into Bitcoin and Gold Is Here to Stay
by Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge
(Zero Hedge)—The so-called “debasement trade” into gold and Bitcoin is “here to stay” as investors brace for persistent geopolitical uncertainty, according to a Jan. 3 research note by JPMorgan shared with CoinTelegraph. Gold and BTC “appear to have become more important components of investors’ portfolios structurally” as they increasingly seek to…
Hochul to Increase Payments to a Program That Serves Illegals
by Independent Sentinel
Welfare champion Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York has proposed a huge expansion of the state’s child tax credit. People here illegally can collect. New York is a one party state and Hochul runs it like a dictator. Hochul wants taxpayers to pay for an increase in the maximum credit…
More Details Emerge Regarding the Plan to Kill a Supreme Court Justice
by Zachary Stieber, The Epoch Times
(The Epoch Times)—A California man allegedly told authorities that he flew to the East Coast to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, according to newly filed court documents. Nicholas Roske flew across the country from California to Virginia on June 7, 2022, landing just before midnight. He got into a…
Kevin O’Leary Wants to Save TikTok by Buying It and Rewriting Its Algorithm
by The Blaze
“Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary said that he was working on a deal to save the popular TikTok social media platform from being banned in the U.S. over privacy concerns. Republican lawmakers have banned TikTok from being used by state and federal employees after numerous reports that the platform collects…
AI Chatbots Credited With Surge in US Holiday Sales
by Valuetainment
AI-powered tools, particularly chatbots, significantly boosted online holiday sales in the US to $282 billion in 2024, a nearly 4% increase from the previous year, according to Salesforce. Globally, online sales reached $229 billion, up from $199 billion in 2023, as retailers utilized targeted promotions and personalized recommendations to attract…
Dana White Has Joined Meta’s Board of Directors
by Cactus Williams, Discern Report
UFC CEO and long-time friend of Donald Trump, Dana White, has joined Meta’s board of directors alongside Charlie Songhurst and John Elkann. This is just the latest in a series of decisions Meta has made following Trump’s historic electoral victory which seemed to be aimed at cozying up to the…
The Biggest Sale on Beef With 25-Year Shelf-Life EVER
by Sponsored Post
Let’s cut to the chase. Prepper All-Naturals is offering an unprecedented 40% off for its “Beef Steak” survival bags with promo code “steak40”. With a 25-year shelf life and a single ingredient (beef, of course), our most popular product is available for a very limited time with the biggest discount…
McDonald’s to Abandon Diversity ‘Goals’ in Hiring, to Stop Participating in Woke Non-Profit’s ‘Corporate Equality Index’
by The Post Millennial
Filmmaker and cultural commentator Robby Starbuck has gained another scalp in his effort to flip US corporations away from woke agendas focused on DEI, diversity, equity and inclusion. “BIG news,” Starbuck reported on X. “McDonald’s is ending a number of woke DEI policies today. Now let me tell you what’s…
