Utility to buy power from advanced nuclear plant to fuel Tennessee and
Alabama Google data centers
[August 19, 2025] By
JONATHAN MATTISE
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The nation's largest public utility plans to buy
power from an upcoming advanced nuclear plant to help fuel Google data
centers in Tennessee and Alabama, according to a deal announced Monday.
The Tennessee Valley Authority, California-based Kairos Power and Google
say the agreement will deliver up to 50 megawatts of energy to the
federal utility's grid that powers the data centers.
The announcement comes at a time when tech companies expect to require a
massive amount of power to fuel data centers behind artificial
intelligence, and some of them have been especially interested in new
nuclear production. President Donald Trump released a plan last month to
boost AI and build data centers across the U.S. and in May signed
executive orders aimed at boosting nuclear power.
TVA says it is the first U.S. utility to sign a power purchase agreement
to buy electricity from a next-generation nuclear reactor. It would rely
on the Hermes 2 reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which is scheduled to
begin operations in 2030.
The agreement will power data centers in Montgomery County, Tennessee,
and Jackson County, Alabama, and support future growth in the region,
the news release said. Google will receive clean energy credits
associated with the plant.
“This collaboration with TVA, Kairos Power, and the Oak Ridge community
will accelerate the deployment of innovative nuclear technologies and
help support the needs of our growing digital economy while also
bringing firm carbon-free energy to the electricity system,” Amanda
Peterson Corio, Google’s global head of data center energy, said in the
news release.
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Electrical power lines string across the landscape near downtown
Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis,
File)
 Hermes 2 is the first reactor under
a deal between Kairos Power and Google to bring on 500 megawatts of
new, advanced nuclear power production to help cover the tech
giant's increased demand for electricity.
The new kind of nuclear reactor uses fluoride salt-cooled,
high-temperature reactor technology. It uses molten salt as a
coolant. Another test version of the plant in Oak Ridge, named
Hermes, does not produce electricity.
The Hermes 2 plant received a construction permit from the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission in November. The plant still has more steps to
complete, including an application for an operating license from the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Many next-generation reactors, including Kairos' Hermes 2, will use
high-assay low-enriched uranium. The fuel is enriched to a higher
level than traditional large nuclear reactors use, allowing the
newer reactors to run longer and more efficiently, sit on smaller
footprints and produce less waste, according to the Department of
Energy.
There’s little of it made in the United States right now. But
companies are investing to ramp up production, including in Oak
Ridge.
The Tennessee Valley Authority powers 10 million people across seven
southern states.
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