NuScale and Rivals Race to Power AI Data Centers by 2030

AI's Power Problem Meets Nuclear's Comeback

The explosive growth of artificial intelligence has created an electricity demand crisis that traditional grid expansion can't solve fast enough, pushing utilities, tech companies, and startups toward an unlikely savior: small modular reactors (SMRs). NuScale Power, often cited as the furthest-along developer of this technology in the United States, finds itself at the center of a debate over whether its compact, factory-built reactors can actually come online in time to meet the voracious energy appetite of AI data centers 1.

The core tension is timing. Data centers running AI workloads need firm, round-the-clock power now, while nuclear projects — even smaller, modular ones — typically require years of regulatory review, supply-chain buildout, and construction before generating a single watt. NuScale's technology is described as genuinely novel in how it could reshape nuclear deployment, but the company still faces the challenge of proving it can move from design to operating reactor on a timeline that satisfies hyperscale power buyers 1.

A Crowded Field of Contenders

NuScale is far from alone in chasing this opportunity. Constellation Energy, one of the largest nuclear operators in the country, has made an investment in Blue Energy as part of a broader push to position itself at the front of the SMR race, betting that AI-driven demand will reward companies that can offer reliable carbon-free capacity at scale 4. Terra Innovatum Global is advancing its SOLO micro-modular reactor, with a business update call scheduled for April 2026 expected to detail progress on manufacturing, regulatory approval, commercial contracts, and supply-chain readiness 2.

Utilities themselves are getting directly involved in siting decisions. The Tennessee Valley Authority is in active negotiations to place advanced SMRs at the unfinished Bellefonte nuclear site in Alabama, according to its interim CEO, signaling that existing but abandoned nuclear infrastructure could offer a shortcut for deployment 3. Meanwhile, interest in the SMR-160 design has surfaced at the Oyster Creek site in New Jersey, though the prospect has already drawn concern from environmentalists worried about safety and oversight at a location with a long nuclear history 5. In Maryland, state officials and energy planners are exploring advanced nuclear as one answer to a worsening energy crunch, even as skepticism persists about whether SMRs can truly deliver on cost, schedule, and performance promises made by developers 6.

What the Divergence Reveals

Taken together, the coverage shows a nuclear industry buoyed by real investment and utility interest but still unproven at commercial scale. Optimism about SMRs as a clean, flexible power source is tempered everywhere by the same unresolved question: will regulatory timelines, construction realities, and public concern allow these reactors to arrive before AI's power needs outpace supply.