The electricity needed to power AI data centres is causing technology companies to double down on their push for a nuclear energy renaissance.
Amazon, Google and Meta signed a petition to support the goal of at least tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050, announced last week by the World Nuclear Association during the CERAWEEK by S&P Global energy conference in Houston, Texas.
“Recognising that by ensuring that nuclear and other energy sources have equal access to finance, governments can enable nuclear capacity deployment at scale worldwide,” the petition read, stating that “nuclear energy can provide round the clock energy independently of the weather, the season or the geographical location”.
“This is not the end, it is just the beginning,” said World Nuclear Association director Sama Bilbao y Leon of the petition. “We know that many other large energy users are considering joining the pledge in the future.”
Given the growing interest and investment in AI, that seems to be a safe bet. According to a report from the US Energy Department, data centres consumed about 4.4 per cent of total electricity in the country, but by 2028, that share could increase to 12 per cent.
By most estimates, a simple query to an AI chatbot uses 10 times more energy than a similar search on Google. That's because the large language models that make up the backbone of AI contain parameters that require ample computing power that quickly consumes electricity.
In short, increasingly powerful large language models require more energy-intensive data centres, which place a bigger burden on the electricity grid.
The petition came several weeks after an announcement from Constellation Energy, which said that it was ahead of schedule with its much-touted plans to restart Three Mile Island's (TMI) Unit 1 nuclear reactor in Pennsylvania as part of a 20-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft, which is also seeking to power its AI data centres.
“Every new milestone confirms our belief that the Crane Clean Energy Centre can be returned to service better than ever, restoring 835 megawatts of carbon-free energy to the regional grid at a critical time for Pennsylvania and our nation,” said Joe Dominguez, chief executive of Constellation.
Constellation has said that the project could create “3,400 direct and indirect jobs” while also adding more than “800 megawatts of carbon-free electricity to the grid”.
The juxtaposition of the initial announcement made by Constellation several months ago stands in stark contrast with the history of Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island, which was the site of the one of the biggest nuclear accidents in US history. In 1979, the core of Unit 2 was partially exposed, leading to a temporary evacuation of the nearby area and a lengthy clean-up. The incident left a black mark and stigma on nuclear energy that lingers to this very day.
In turn, those fears caused by the accident TMI Unit 2, along with Chernobyl's deadly 1986 explosion and Fukushima's 2011 disaster, are colliding with the collective effort by technology companies to bring more nuclear reactors on line.
“You cannot erase or rewrite history,” said Eric Epstein, director of Three Mile Island Alert, a grass roots safe energy organisation founded in 1977, two years before the Unit 2 accident.
Mr Epstein was referring to Constellation's decision the name from TMI Unit 1 to Crane Clean Energy Centre. “This is an act of cultural vandalism. You can’t rebrand a nuclear disaster,” he added, also expressing scepticism about the jobs promised.
Mr Epstein, along with others who live in the shadow of Three Mile Island on the Susquehanna River, aren't buying into the renewed nuclear optimism presented by Big Tech.
“This is like retrofitting an Edsel,” he said, referring to Constellation's TMI Unit 1 plan, also accusing the company and the nuclear industry of using taxpayer funded subsidies.
“Anyone can be over confident when you have $2 billion of other peoples' money in your back packet.” He also questioned who will ultimately benefit from the energy generated by the reactor. He has described TMI Unit 1 as a “zombie reactor” that will serve to provide electricity to data centres in Virginia, Illinois and Ohio.
Pennsylvania's Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro, however, has praised the progress made on TMI Unit 1, and saying that the reactor will play a crucial role “in providing safe, reliable, clean electricity”.
Meanwhile, there's also a major push from various technology companies like Amazon, Oracle and OpenAI, to pursue the idea of using small modular nuclear reactors, as a potential way to bridge the energy gap created by AI.
Pending approval from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Three Mile Island's Unit 1 is expected to restart in 2028.
The years Ramadan fell in May
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
THE SPECS
Aston Martin Rapide AMR
Engine: 6.0-litre V12
Transmission: Touchtronic III eight-speed automatic
Power: 595bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh999,563
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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CREW
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Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
SPECS
Mini John Cooper Works Clubman and Mini John Cooper Works Countryman
Engine: two-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 306hp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: JCW Clubman, Dh220,500; JCW Countryman, Dh225,500
The Specs
Price, base Dh379,000
Engine 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 503bhp
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Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
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Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
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PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
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Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
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