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AMERICA JUST PUT A $900 MILLION BOUNTY ON NUCLEAR REACTORS — BECAUSE A.I. IS ABOUT TO BREAK THE GRID Artificial intelligence is impressive. It writes poems, generates cat memes, and occasionally threatens users in a friendly chatbot tone. But behind the digital magic trick is a monster-sized electricity bill — and it’s growing like it’s been left alone with a credit card. In 2023, U.S. data centers — the server farms that power A.I. — doubled their energy use in a single year, jumping to 5,341 megawatts. That makes them the 11th-largest electricity consumer on Earth, and by 2026, they’re projected to rank fifth. That’s right: A.I. could soon use more power than entire countries. So now the U.S. government is throwing $900 million at a solution it’s mostly ignored for decades: nuclear power, specifically small modular reactors (SMRs). These aren’t your grandpa’s Cold War monoliths — they’re compact, scalable, and can be dropped in next to data centers, industrial zones, or anywhere the A.I. grid monster roams. The Department of Energy’s message is clear: Build reactors. Fast. Before the machines go offline or start asking for coal. This isn’t just about keeping up with Google’s nuclear plans or tech giants going off-grid. It’s about national infrastructure. About whether America can power its digital future without blackouts, gas backups, or asking China for help. The U.S. is hoping someone — anyone — takes its $900 million nuclear offer and runs with it. The funding includes support for “first movers” willing to build, and “fast followers” who can fix the messes left behind. The truth is, A.I. isn’t slowing down. It won’t wait for power plants to catch up. If the U.S. wants to run the future — instead of brownout-blinking through it — it’s going to need serious, steady, and scalable power. Spoiler: that means nuclear. Sources: DOE, Futurism, CNBC, NYT, Le Monde
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