Google says U.S. is facing a power capacity crisis in AI race against China

Published

5 months ago

February 12, 2025

admin

A Google Cloud logo outside the Google Cloud data center ahead of its ceremonial opening in Hanau, Germany, on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The U.S. is facing a power capacity crisis as the tech sector races against China to achieve dominance in artificial intelligence, an executive leading the energy strategy of Alphabet’s Google unit said this week.

The emergence of China’s DeepSeek artificial intelligence firm sent the shares of major power companies tumbling in late January on speculation that its AI model is cheaper and more efficient. But Caroline Golin, Google’s global head of energy market development, said more power is needed now to keep up with Beijing.

“We are in a capacity crisis in this country right now, and we are in an AI race against China right now,” Golin told a conference hosted by the Nuclear Energy Institute in New York City on Tuesday.

Alphabet‘s Google unit embarked four years ago on an ambitious goal to power its operations around the clock with carbon-free renewable energy, but the company faced a major obstacle that forced a turn toward nuclear power.

Google ran into a “very stark reality that we didn’t have enough capacity on the system to power our data centers in the short term and then potentially in the long term,” Golin said.

Google realized the deployment of renewables was potentially causing grid instability, and utilities were investing in carbon-emitting natural gas to back up the system, the executive said. Wind and particularly solar power have grown rapidly in the U.S., but their output depends on weather conditions.

“We learned the importance of the developing clean firm technologies,” Golin said. “We recognized that nuclear was going to be part of the portfolio.”

The Google-Kairos deal

Last October, Google announced a deal to purchase 500 megawatts of power from a fleet of small modular nuclear reactors made by Kairos Power. Small modular reactors are advanced designs that promise to one day speed up the deployment of nuclear power because they have smaller footprints and a more streamlined manufacturing process.

Large nuclear projects in the U.S. have long been stymied by delays, cost overruns and cancellations. To date, there is no operational small modular reactor in the U.S. Google and Kairos plan to deploy their first reactor in 2030, with more units coming online through 2035.

Golin said the project with Kairos is currently in an initial test-pilot phase with other partners that she would not disclose. Kairos received permission in November from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build two 35-megawatt test reactors in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The goal is to get buy-in from partners like electric utilities to create an approach that can broadly deploy the technology, Golin said.

The nuclear industry increasingly views the growing power needs of the tech sector as a potential catalyst to restart old reactors and build new ones. Amazon announced an investment of more than $500 million in small nuclear reactors two days after Google unveiled its agreement with Kairos.

Last September, Constellation Energy said it plans to bring the nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania back online through a power purchase agreement with Microsoft.

A need for reliable power

Golin said nuclear is a longer-term solution, given the reality that power capacity is needed now to keep up with China in the artificial intelligence race. “Over the next five years, nuclear doesn’t play in that space,” she said.

President Donald Trump declared a national energy emergency through executive order on his first day in office. The order cited electric grid reliability as a central concern.

Trump told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that he would use emergency powers to expedite the construction of power plants for AI data centers.

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright issued an order on Feb. 5 that listed “the commercialization of affordable and abundant nuclear energy” as a priority.

Environment

Tesla’s retro-futuristic diner and Supercharger is here and it looks sick

Published

9 hours ago

July 15, 2025

admin

Tesla's retro-futuristic diner and Supercharger is here and it looks sick

Tesla’s retro-futuristic diner with Superchargers and giant movie screens is ready to open, and I have to admit, it looks pretty sick.

This project has been in the works for a long time.

In 2018, Elon Musk said that Tesla planned to open an “old school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant at one of the new Tesla Supercharger locations in Los Angeles.” It was yet another “Is he joking?” kind of Elon Musk idea, but he wasn’t kidding.

A few months later, Tesla applied for building permits for “a restaurant and Supercharger station” at a location in Santa Monica. However, the project stalled for a long time, apparently due to local regulations.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

Nevertheless, Tesla still moved forward with a Supercharger at the location, but it had to move the diner project to Hollywood. In 2022, Tesla filed the construction plans with the city, giving us the first look at what the automaker intends to build.

In 2023, the automaker broke ground on the site of the diner.

7 years after being originally announced, the project appears now ready to open:

[embedded content]

Musk said that he ate at the diner last night and claimed that it is “one of the coolest spots in LA.” He didn’t say when it will open, but Tesla vehicles have been spotted at Supercharger and people appear to be testing the dinning experience inside.

A Tesla Optimus Robot can be seen inside the diner on a test rack. It looks like Tesla might use one for some tasks inside the diner.

Earlier this year, Tesla integrated the diner into its mobile app – hinting at some interaction through the app – possibly ordering from it.

Electrek’s Take

I think it looks pretty cool. I am a fan of the design and concept.

However, considering the state of the Tesla community, I don’t think I’d like the vibes. That said, it looks like Tesla isn’t prominently pushing its branding on the diner.

You can come and charge there, but it looks like Tesla is also aiming to get a wider clientele just for dining.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Environment

Westinghouse plans to build 10 large nuclear reactors in U.S., interim CEO tells Trump

Published

10 hours ago

July 15, 2025

admin

Westinghouse plans to build 10 large nuclear reactors in U.S., interim CEO tells Trump

Plant Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant in Waynesboro, GA, August 15, 2024.

Van Applegate | CNBC

Westinghouse plans to build 10 large nuclear reactors in the U.S. with construction to begin by 2030, interim CEO Dan Sumner told President Donald Trump at a roundtable in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

Westinghouse’s big AP1000 reactor generates enough electricity to power more than 750,000 homes, according to the company. Building 10 of these reactors would drive $75 billion of economic value across the U.S. and $6 billion in Pennsylvania, Sumner said.

The Westinghouse executive laid out the plan to Trump during a conference on energy and artificial intelligence at Carnegie Mellon University. Technology, energy and financial executives announced more than $90 billion of investment in data centers and power infrastructure at the conference, according to the office of Sen. Dave McCormick, who organized the event.

Trump issued four executive orders in May that aim to quadruple nuclear power in the U.S. by 2050. The president called for the U.S. to have 10 nuclear plants under construction by 2050. He ordered a “wholesale revision” of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s rules and guidelines.

The U.S. has built only two new nuclear reactors over the past 30 years, both of which were Westinghouse AP1000s at Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro, Georgia. The project notoriously came in $18 billion over budget and seven years behind schedule, contributing to the bankruptcy of Westinghouse.

The industry stalwart emerged from bankruptcy in 2018 and us now owned by Canadian uranium miner Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management.

Westinghouse announced a partnership with Google on Tuesday to use AI tools to make the construction of AP1000s an “efficient, repeatable process,” according to the company.

Catch up on the latest energy news from CNBC Pro:

Environment

Hyundai’s electric minivan sheds its camo: Check out the new Staria EV

Published

11 hours ago

July 15, 2025

admin

Hyundai's electric minivan sheds its camo: Check out the new Staria EV

Hyundai’s electric minivan is finally out in the open. The Staria EV was caught without camo near Hyundai’s R&D center in Korea, giving us a closer look at the electric minivan undisguised.

Hyundai’s electric minivan drops camo ahead of debut

The Staria arrived in 2021 as the successor to the Starex, Hyundai’s multi-purpose vehicle (MPV). Although the Staria has received several updates throughout the years, 2026 will be its biggest by far.

Hyundai will launch the Staria EV, its first electric minivan. Like the current model, the 2026 Staria will be available in several different configurations, including cargo, passenger, and even a camper version.

We’ve seen the Staria EV out in public a few times already. Last month, we got a glimpse of it while driving on public roads in Korea.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

Despite the camouflage, new EV-like design elements were visible, including updated LED headlights and a full-length light bar. Although it’s still unclear, the electric version appears to be roughly the same size as the current Staria from the side, but slightly wider from the front.

New images posted on the South Korean forum Clien reveal a test car, expected to be Hyundai’s Staria electric minivan, without camo.

Like most Hyundai test cars, the prototype has a black front and a grey body. It still features a similar look to other prototypes we’ve seen, but you can clearly see the new facelift.

Earlier this year, a Staria EV was spotted in a parking lot in Korea, featuring a similar look. The electric version is nearly identical to the Staria Lounge, but with an added charge port and closed-off grille.

The Hyundai Staria EV is expected to make its global debut later this year. Technical details have yet to be revealed, but it’s expected to feature either a 76 kWh or 84 kWh battery, providing a range of around 350 km (217 miles) to 400 km (249 miles).

Hyundai's-first-electric-minivan — Hyundai Staria Lounge (Source: Hyundai)

Hyundai’s electric SUV arrives after Kia introduced its first electric van, the PV5, which launched in Europe and Korea earlier this year.

In Europe, the Kia Passenger PV5 model is available with two battery pack options: 51.5 kWh and 71.2 kWh, providing WLTP ranges of 179 miles and 249 miles, respectively. The Cargo version has a WLTP range of 181 miles or 247 miles.

Source: TheKoreanCarBlog, Clien

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.