UK bets big (and small) on nuclear as datacenter demand expected to climb

£14.2B Sizewell C among the investments along side Small Modular Reactors

The UK has bet big on nuclear power — both big and small — following a series of warnings about energy capacity and supply for datacenter investments.

On the larger scale, the government has announced a £14.2 billion ($19.2 billion) investment to build the Sizewell C nuclear power plant on the Suffolk coast, northeast of London. After years of delay and uncertainty, the Treasury committed to the spending, promising UK supply chain companies would get 70 percent of contracts. EDF is building Hinkley Point C, with the delayed construction ongoing.

Energy secretary Ed Miliband said: "We need new nuclear to deliver a golden age of clean energy abundance, because that is the only way to protect family finances, take back control of our energy, and tackle the climate crisis."

Sizewell C is set to produce around 3.2 gigawatts of electricity. On the smaller side, the government has also committed to building the first of the country's promised small modular reactors. Aerospace giant Rolls-Royce has won the deal to build the plant, which is expected to produce around 300 megawatts of electric power and be the first of a number of such reactors.

Once small modular reactors and Sizewell C come online in the 2030s, combined with the new station at Hinkley Point C, the UK will put more nuclear power into the grid than over the previous half century, the government claims.

The likelihood is, the UK will need it. As well as the small matter of electrifying the nation's transport infrastructure in response climate change, the output will be needed by power-hungry datacenters.

In May, 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 promised to invest £8 billion ($10.6 billion) in the UK before the end of 2028 to meet "the growing needs of our customers and partners."

A group of large-scale energy users — including Amazon, Meta, and Google — has said the world should triple its nuclear power capacity by 2050 to meet increasing energy demands. ®