Amazon Web Services CEO Calls for Nuclear Power Expansion to Meet AI Data Center Energy Demands in UK

AWS: Britain needs more nuclear power for AI datacenters

CEO warns energy demands will overwhelm grid without extra generation capacity The UK needs more nuclear energy generation just to power all the AI datacenters that are going to be built, according to the head of Amazon Web Services (AWS). In an interview with the BBC, AWS chief executive Matt Garman said the world is going to have to build new technologies to cope with the projected energy demands of all the bit barns that are planned to support AI. "I believe nuclear is a big part of that, particularly as we look ten years out," he said. AWS has already confirmed plans to invest £8 billion ($10.6 billion) on building out its digital and AI infrastructure in Britain between now and the end of 2028 to meet "the growing needs of our customers and partners." Yet the cloud computing arm of Amazon isn't the only biz popping up new bit barns in Blighty. Google started building a $1 billion campus at Waltham Cross near London last year, while Microsoft began construction of the Park Royal facility in West London in 2023, and made public its plans for another datacenter on the site of a former power station in Leeds last year. Earleir this year, approval was granted for what is set to become Europe's largest cloud and AI datacenter at a site in Hertfordshire, while another not far away has just been granted outline planning permission by a UK government minister, overruling the local district authority. This activity is accelerating thanks to the government's AI Opportunities Action Plan, which includes streamlined planning processes to expedite the building of more data facilities in the hope this will drive AI development. As The Register has previously reported, the infrastructure needed for AI is getting more power-hungry with each generation, and the datacenter expansion to serve the growth in AI services has led to concerns over the amount of energy required. Global consumption by bit barns is forecast to more than double by 2030, the International Energy Agency (IEA) recently warned, while National Grid in the UK estimated it will grow 500 percent over the next decade in this country. Concerns are high enough that the UK government formed an AI Energy Council, which met for the first time recently, to ensure the country's energy infrastructure can cope with the strain of all the planned facilities. Much of its focus appears to be on upgrading the electricity grid and ensuring requests to be connected are served in a timely manner, rather than bringing more energy generation to the table. "AI is driving exponential demand for compute, and that means power. Ultimately, a long-term, resilient energy strategy is critical," said Séamus Dunne, managing director in the UK and Ireland for datacenter biz Digital Realty. "For the UK to stay competitive in the global digital economy, we need a stable, scalable, and low-carbon energy mix to support the next generation of data infrastructure. With demand already outpacing supply, and the UK aiming to establish itself as an AI powerhouse, it's vital we stay open to a range of solutions. That also means building public trust and working with government to ensure the grid can keep pace." Garman told the BBC that nuclear is a "great solution" to datacenter energy requirements as it is "an excellent source of zero-carbon, 24/7 power." This might be true, but new atomic capacity simply can't be delivered fast enough to meet near-term demand, as we reported earlier this year. The World Nuclear Association says that an atomic plant typically takes at least five years to construct, whereas natural gas plants are often built in about two years. Construction on the UK's Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset started in 2017, but is not expected to be operational before 2030. "Undoubtedly, nuclear energy will serve as part of the world's energy mix for years to come," Canalys principal ESG analyst Elsa Nightingale told The Register. "However, investing heavily in nuclear energy doesn't address the core issue. For one, nuclear projects have long lead times while AI's energy demands are coming now." Some of the hyperscale tech firms such as Google and Amazon are investing in technology such as small modular reactors (SMRs) to either feed the grid or power their datacenters directly, but this is immature technology that isn't expected to be ready before 2030. Small wonder that Garman says AWS is looking ten years out when he talks about nuclear. We asked the UK government's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) about Garman's comments, and a spokesperson told us: "Our Clean Power Action Plan will enable the development and growth of new energy-intensive industries such as datacenters." "We are also reforming the outdated connections process, freeing up grid capacity to make it easier for datacenters to secure a timely connection." ®

UK needs more nuclear to power AI, says Amazon Web Services boss

French company EDF is currently building a giant new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset and a decision to build another one at Sizewell in Suffolk is pending. EDF's UK Chair Alex Chisholm unsurprisingly agrees with Mr Garman. "Why are data centre providers turning to nuclear? They will need a lot of energy, reliably," Mr Chisholm told the BBC. "Replication of Hinkley Point C, alongside the roll out of SMRs, can power Britain's digital economy." SMRs refers to small modular reactors which are the size of a football stadium as opposed to the size of a whole town, like Sizewell or Hinkley. Amazon is already partnering with SMR firms in Washington and Virginia to develop SMRs and would be a natural customer for Rolls Royce which is developing its own SMR designs here. A spokesperson for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero told the BBC that modular reactors "will play a particularly important roles in growing energy-hungry sectors like AI and we're shaking up the planning rules to make it easier to build nuclear power stations across the country" But this technology is many years away and new grid connections already take years to establish. Jess Ralston at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit said: "Investors can be waiting years for grid connections holding back growth." "Nuclear could be a way of supply data centre's power needs, but hardly any SMRs have been built anywhere in the world and traditional nuclear remains very expensive and takes a long time to build. So, it may be a while, if ever, for this to be a viable solution".

U.K. Tries To Jumpstart Nuclear Construction as AI Data Centers Demand More Electricity

Prime Minister Starmer is cutting red tape to get approvals for the first new nuclear reactors in 30 years. Despite decades of protests, the United Kingdom hopes to turn back to nuclear energy as power needs for data computing are increasing. The head of Amazon's cloud computing business says the U.K. needs to invest heavily in nuclear power just to support the skyrocketing demands of AI data centers. Amazon plans to spend more than $10 billion on new data centers in the U.K. over the next four years, which will strain the current energy grid. "I think the world is going to have to build new technologies," Amazon Web Services's chief executive, Matt Garman, told the BBC. "I believe nuclear is a big part of that, particularly as we look 10 years out." Data centers consume large amounts of energy due to a number of factors, including cooling needs, the constant volume of data, and rapid computing. The growth of AI data centers requires even more power due to their high-density computing and the specialized machines producing more heat, according to a data center firm, North C. The data centers account for a small but rapidly growing amount of the U.K.'s energy needs. They currently consume 2.5 percent of the nation's total electricity, but that is seen rising to 6 percent by 2030. By 2050, they are expected to consume nearly as much energy as the entire industrial sector does today. Ireland's data centers chew up 21 percent of the country's total power as of now, and that is expected to rise to 30 percent by 2030. Prime Minister Starmer has acknowledged the need for more power. He is slashing red tape to clear approvals for more compact and easier to build nuclear reactors called Small Modular Reactors. It has been 30 years since a new nuclear power plant has gone online in the U.K. Meanwhile, China is constructing 29 reactors, and the EU has 12 in the planning stage. "This country hasn't built a nuclear power station in decades. We've been let down, and left behind," Mr. Starmer says. "I'll take the radical decisions needed to wrestle Britain from its status quo slumber to turbocharge our plan for change." Anti-nuclear sentiment is widespread in Britain but support for new construction of nuclear plants has grown steadily since Russia invaded Ukraine, according to a strategy firm, Stonehaven. Fifty-one percent support building nuclear power plants to bring down emissions, recent polling of Labour Party supporters finds. The largest jump in support is among the young. "Just two years ago, only Conservative supporters and people over the age of 65 showed net support for new nuclear," Stonehaven states. "Now, even 18- to 24-year-olds want new power stations built." Amazon is the largest buyer of renewable energy in the world and has funded dozens of solar and wind projects. But nuclear power is a "great solution" for data centers' energy needs, Mr. Garman tells the BBC. An Amazon competitor, Microsoft, agrees. "We welcome the government's plans to accelerate the building of safe, modern nuclear as part of the energy mix," Microsoft U.K.'s CEO, Darren Hardman, says.