Will Utah Approve a Nuclear Powered Data Center on Public Land?

NPR reported that a startup proposed a nuclear-powered data center on public land in Utah, triggering federal and state reviews. The project would require Bureau of Land Management approvals under the National Environmental Policy Act and separate nuclear licensing from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Recent developments include the NRC’s 2023 certification of NuScale’s small modular reactor design and UAMPS canceling its NuScale-affiliated project in 2023 due to costs. Water rights and environmental permits would run through Utah agencies, with grid interconnection involving PacifiCorp’s Rocky Mountain Power. Amazon Web Services acquired the Cumulus Data campus from Talen Energy for $650 million with up to 960 megawatts supplied from the Susquehanna nuclear plant, while Microsoft and Constellation advanced hourly nuclear matching and Google pursued geothermal with Fervo Energy. Federal incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act and DOE loan guarantees could influence project economics and timelines.

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