Texas energy company HGP Intelligent Energy has submitted an application to the US Department of Energy proposing to use decommissioned nuclear reactors from warships to provide electricity for new data centers.
Texas energy company HGP Intelligent Energy has submitted an application to the US Department of Energy proposing to use decommissioned nuclear reactors from warships to provide electricity for new data centers.
According to the filing, the company proposes to redirect two reactors decommissioned by the Navy to a project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. This would generate 450 to 520 megawatts of electricity around the clock, enough to power about 360,000 homes.
The initiative, filed under the White House's Genesis Mission program, is seen as one of the fastest ways to add baseload capacity to the U.S. power grid, which is struggling to keep up with rising demand.
Building new conventional nuclear or gas-fired plants takes years, while using off-the-shelf military reactors (made by Westinghouse or General Electric, previously installed on aircraft carriers or submarines) could significantly speed up the process. According to HGP, the first phase of the project could be launched as early as 2029.
HGP estimates that retrofitting existing facilities will cost between $1 million and $4 million per megawatt, a fraction of the cost of building a new reactor. The plan would require about $1.8 billion to $2.1 billion in private capital to build the infrastructure, with the company planning to obtain loan guarantees from the state and share profits with the government. HGP CEO Gregory Forero assures that they know how to do it safely and at scale.
Read more about how artificial intelligence created a colossal electricity shortage in the world in the material on dev.ua
