Meta's nuclear-powered data center project has hit a snag, and the bees are the cause. Comment: If you are going to restart an existing old nuclear power plant or build a new one, a new Japanese-made small or ultra-small nuclear power plant is less likely to melt down if it loses power in the process. In addition, underground plants are relatively safe from drone strikes and air strikes by terrorists, depending on how deep underground they are buried compared to above-ground plants. Compared to existing nuclear power plants, small or very small Japanese-made nuclear power plants can be recommended because they are relatively safer. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/087fc0e079de977a130677f21aa80a7a045514b6

Thursday, 11/7, 11:30

日本の革新炉開発【小型モジュール炉／高速炉／高温ガス炉／マイクロ炉】

Innovative Reactor Development in Japan [Small Module Reactor / Fast Reactor / High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor / Micro Reactor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6g6EavjkXQ

Meta's nuclear-powered data center project stalled, bees to blame

The data center project by Meta is now underway with nuclear power generation. According to a report in the Financial Times, the project may be delayed or even abandoned. The cause...bees!

A rare bee is discovered.

According to reports, a very rare species of bee has been discovered on the land where the data center is planned to be built. CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself explained this to the staff, and for the sake of protecting the ecosystem, it was determined that it would be difficult to build a data center on this land as long as the bees were present. It is increasingly believed that the plan will be temporarily suspended.

Growing Demand for Nuclear Power with AI

Tech giants are now keen on nuclear-powered data centers. Behind this is the rise of AI. As AI uses more data centers in the future, such as for large-scale language models that require more complex and highly speculative processing as they evolve, power usage will only increase. Tech companies have in recent years set a goal of carbon neutrality as part of their environmental efforts. However, the rise of AI is making it more difficult to achieve this goal. In order to strengthen AI while promoting carbon neutrality, nuclear-powered data centers are being used. Another advantage of nuclear power is that it is more cost-effective than existing solar and wind power, and can be expected to provide a stable power supply. Microsoft plans to pay billions of dollars to restart the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant in Pennsylvania. The plant is scheduled to restart in 2028, and Microsoft will purchase power from the plant for 20 years. Source: FT