As we’ve written before, surging power demand from AI data centers is driving a nuclear revival. Last week, Bill Gates-backed TerraPower broke ground in Kemmerer, Wyoming, marking the construction of the first utility-scale advanced nuclear plant in the U.S.
About 75 nuclear power reactors are currently being constructed worldwide, with China leading the way at 39; India with 8; Russia with 7; Egypt and Turkey with 4 – their first ever; and a handful underway in South Korea, the U.K., Bangladesh, and Slovakia.
In terms of hyperscalers’ SMRs (small modular reactors), Google partner Kairos Power began construction of its molten salt-cooled (KP-FHR) SMR in Oak Ridge, TN, and Amazon, Meta, and Oracle are in various stages of licensing, design, or site prep for their own SMRs.
For hyperscaler nuclear “restarts,” there is the Microsoft-Constellation rejuvenation boosted by a $1 billion loan by the Trump Administration for 835 MW of capacity. Renamed as the Christopher M. Crane Clean Energy Center (formerly 3-Mile Island), it will support the PJM regional grid.
Similarly, Google is underwriting the comeback of the Duane Arnold reactor near Palo, Iowa, with the The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) currently reviewing a “licensing bundle” of amendments submitted by NextEra.
As of May 2026, there are approximately 438 operable nuclear power reactors in 31 countries, with a total net installed capacity of about 400 GW.
Susana Schwartz
Technology Editor
RCRTech
AI Infrastructure Top Stories
Telcos as sovereign cloud ‘services brokers’: Vodafone’s AWS tie-up, BT’s STACKIT deal, Deutsche Telekom’s AI-factory push collectively show a Euro-telco strategy to provide storage, operations, and governance for public & private sector.
Telenor’s new sovereign cloud co.: Telenor will initially focus on energy and healthcare in its new Telenor Sovereign Cloud company, which will provide nationally controlled cloud, security, operational, and regulatory services.
Australia ups data-center game: Cushman & Wakefield data center expert Pritesh Swamy told RCRTech that Australia’s operational data center capacity increased 20% the previous year, reaching 1.4 GW, with 2.8 in development pipeline.
AI Today: What You Need to Know
GE Vernova gas-nuclear plant: GE Vernova and startup Blue Energy will bring a 2,500-MW gas and nuclear power plant to TX, combining Blue Energy’s project financing and nuclear construction with GE Vernova’s reactor technology and turbines.
OpenAI Enterprise AI: The $4B venture, OpenAI Deployment Company, will extend OpenAI’s ability to embed engineers specialized in frontier AI deployment, known as Forward Deployed Engineers, into organizations working on complex problems.
Anthropic’s Enterprise AI: Right before the OpenAI news, Anthropic announced a $1.5B venture backed by Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, Hellman & Friedman, and Sequoia Capital to sell Claude across private equity-backed companies and others.
NAACP sues xAI: The NAACP alleges that Elon Musk’s xAI is guilty of Clean Air Act violations, seeking a preliminary injunction on the company’s “unpermitted” natural gas-burning turbines, which power its data center in Southaven, MS.
Repurposing GA coal plant: Georgia Power broke ground on an energy system at Plant Wansley, which will house a 500-MW battery storage system alongside a roughly 1,500-MW combined cycle natural gas plant, specific to DC demand.
UNT semi research center: Focused on developing “a more sustainable semiconductor workforce pipeline in Texas,” the University of North Texas launched the Center for Microelectronics in Extreme Environments (CMEE).
RCR Events
Test & Measurement Forum, May 19
Join the annual Test & Measurement Forum where industry leaders, innovators, and engineers come together to tackle the most pressing test and measurement challenges in telco today. Register now
Telco AI Forum, June 16th
Telco AI Forum brings together operators, vendors, hyperscalers, and academia to explore how the evolution of the industry and partnership ecosystems is laying the foundations for AI-native 6G networks and unlocking ROI. Register now
Quantum Safe Networks Forum, July 14th
Quantum Safe Networks Forum brings together telecom operators, cybersecurity experts, and industry analysts to explore how to build resilient, future-ready infrastructure in the face of quantum disruption. Register now
RCR Roundtables AI Infrastructure, October 21st, Dallas, Texas
Join 50 senior data center, energy and AI leaders at the Ritz-Carlton Dallas on October 21 for invitation-only roundtables on powering and scaling AI. Request your invitation
Industry Resources
Webinar, May 21st: Securing telecom infrastructure for the quantum era
Webinar, June 2nd: Scaling optical networks for the AI and hyperscale era
Report: AI in testing: Developing trust, delivering results
Report: Test, measurement and service assurance in the AI era
Whitepaper: Powering sovereign AI at scale
