Google's Nuclear Energy Deal: A Step Towards Carbon-Free Future

Google pioneers nuclear energy deals to achieve 24/7 carbon-free power, expanding beyond wind and solar for a sustainable future.

### Google's Commitment to Carbon-Free Energy: A Nuclear Milestone
* 🌍 Google is on a **15-year journey to transition to clean energy**, marking a significant milestone with its **first nuclear energy deal** with Kairos.
* ⚡ The company aims to achieve **24/7 carbon-free energy** in every location, recognizing that "to get to carbon free **24 hours a day**, we're going to need **more technologies than just wind and solar**."
* 🔋 Google has signed over 100 deals for wind and solar, and last year alone, it secured **over four gigawatts of new agreements**, emphasizing its commitment to a **diverse energy portfolio**.
* 🏭 The nuclear deal involves a series of reactors, which helps **drive down costs and scale the technology faster**, making it a **critical part of Google's energy strategy**.
* 📊 While specific dollar per megawatt-hour figures are not disclosed, the expectation is that **nuclear will be competitive with solar and wind technologies**.
* 🌱 Google is also exploring **enhanced geothermal and long-duration storage technologies**, aiming for a **collaborative approach to achieving its carbon-free goals**.
* 🚀 The company expresses excitement about the potential of nuclear energy, referencing **past experiences with new technologies** and a desire to see **more companies entering the nuclear space**.
* 🔮 With ongoing advancements, Google remains focused on **meeting its energy needs** while adapting to the evolving landscape of **renewable energy technologies**.

And I guess that the best starting point, because it's well documented the terms of the deal s'mores and what they are, is whether it meaningfully changes the trajectory of meeting your power needs, but also your targets for climate as well. Well, the world needs more carbon-free energy, and this agreement that we've signed with Kairos is an important milestone in what's been a 15-year journey at Google to make the transition to clean energy. It's our first nuclear energy deal, and we feel that nuclear is a very important technology for going carbon-free for offices, data centers, communities where we operate because it's an always-on carbon-free energy resource. I'm very interested in the technology, you know, I am, but I'm also interested in economics, in the math. Are you able to say, even if it's an estimate, kind of where you see the dollar per megawatt hour being by 2030, 2035 when these come online?

Well, I can't talk about the specifics of this deal, but what's interesting about it is we didn't do a deal for just one reactor. It's actually for a series of reactors, what we call an order book. And that repeatability helps to drive down costs and helps to take the technology to scale faster. Your focus is eliminating carbon emissions by 2030. Does this get you there, Michael? That's right, Caroline. We have a goal as a company to be 24 seven carbon free in everywhere we operate, in every location, every hour of the day. And it's a huge challenge. We've actually been in this phase for 15 years in terms of doing wind and solar. Large deals. We're one of the largest corporate purchasers of wind and solar on the planet. We signed over 100 deals, but we know that to get to carbon free 24 hours a day, we're going to need more technologies than just wind and solar.

The wind doesn't blow all the time. The sun doesn't shine all the time. And what's great about technologies like advanced nuclear is that they provide a more always-on resource. So it's a very big part of our path to 24/7 carbon-free energy. But it takes time. And right now, generative II, the training of it is in the here and now. Do you have the energy infrastructure necessary to satisfy that demand? Yes, we do. And it's why we're making big bets like we are on nuclear. But we're also still betting big on wind and solar and storage. We signed over four gigawatts of deals just last year, the most we've ever signed in a single year. And now we're inking new agreements with utilities to develop a portfolio of technologies that can meet our 24/7 carbon-free needs. So we're both betting short-term and long-term. I know you won't give me a dollar per megawatt-hour figure, but you do expect

the semis to be competitive and in value versus solar and wind and the other technologies you outlined. Absolutely. And we wouldn't do this if it didn't make sense for our business. And, you know, one of the things that I think we ought to really think about and how we value these approaches is the always-on nature that nuclear 24 hours, and it delivers a lot of value, and you can put it anywhere. And so that, again, is very good for the business. But can I just jump in really quick and ask you, your job is really interesting because you are responsible for the energy needs. If you're not calculating the cost per megawatt hour, do you have a clear figure in your head about the energy needs over a five-year or ten-year time horizon? Yeah, well, we've been doing this for, like I said, 15 years. We have a good sense of how our demand

is going to grow. We have a good sense of the portfolio of resources that we need, and we're making decisions that make sense for the business. It makes sense for our growth as a company. So, we feel we're on a good path. Look, it's busy out there in nuclear. Never. We talked about it more in the Amazon deal, for example. These are companies that we've not really heard of: Kairos Power, the Private X energy. Are there enough startups, enough companies building what you need right now to partner with? You know, it reminds me of the early days of wind and solar. We were one of the pioneers in signing corporate PPA agreements to buy these technologies, and there were not a lot of players in the early days of those as well. But now, with this new set of technologies that we're going to need to get to 24/7 carbon-free energy, it's not just nuclear, it's enhanced geothermal, it's long-duration storage.

And so it's great to see others getting in the game. The more, the merrier. I'd like to see 100 more companies doing nuclear deals. From what we've seen this week, we're running out of time. But so you will look at geothermal, and can you give us a proportion of what you see the contribution of nuclear, geothermal, and solar? Yeah, actually, geothermal was one of the first advanced energy deals that we did. We signed a deal in 2021 to do a project in Nevada. It's now scaled to a deal that's 25 times bigger than that original project. So we've got experience in dealing with these new technologies, and we're super excited about the potential for nuclear.

Google Goes Nuclear in Search for New Energy Sources

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Bloomberg Technology

Google's Nuclear Energy Deal: A Milestone in Clean Energy Transition

Google's agreement with Kairos for nuclear energy is a significant step in the company's 15-year journey to achieve carbon-free energy.

The deal involves a series of reactors, aiming to drive down costs and scale up the technology faster.

With a goal to be 24/7 carbon-free by 2030, Google recognizes the need for diverse energy sources beyond wind and solar to meet this challenge.

The Role of Advanced Nuclear in Carbon-Free Energy

Advanced nuclear technology offers a consistent energy resource, crucial for achieving 24/7 carbon-free energy.

The company is making significant investments in nuclear, wind, solar, and storage, with a record of over four gigawatts in deals signed last year.

The goal is to develop a diverse portfolio of technologies to meet energy needs while providing competitive value against solar and wind.

Growing Portfolio for 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy

The company is confidently expanding its resource portfolio to support growth.

There is a busy landscape in the nuclear sector, with emerging startups like Kairos Power and Private X Energy.

The company aims to replicate its early success in wind and solar by signing corporate PPA agreements for new technologies needed for 24/7 carbon-free energy, including nuclear, enhanced geothermal, and long-duration storage.

Expanding the Energy Game: Nuclear, Geothermal, and Solar

The speaker welcomes more companies getting involved in nuclear deals and expresses urgency for action.

Geothermal energy has been a focus, with a project in Nevada scaling to 25 times its original size.

The speaker is excited about the potential of nuclear energy and has experience in dealing with new technologies.