Media Coverage
Source: Law360
Media Coverage
Press Contacts: Erik Cummins, Matt Hyams, Taina Rosa, Olivia Thomas
09.12.25
Nuclear power is becoming an increasingly attractive option for powering data centers, driven by advancements in technology and growing energy demands from AI computing. As such, major tech companies are already signing nuclear energy deals, with federal support signaling a potential boom in the industry.
In an extensive Q&A with Law360, Energy partner and leader of Pillsbury’s Nuclear Energy practice, Jeff Merrifield, discussed how nuclear energy could be a key solution to the growing power needs of modern data centers.
“I think what’s driving this change is the technology in nuclear has changed a bit,” Merrifield said. “…there’s a diversity of technologies that are available to the marketplace with both small modular and advanced reactors. I would say that we now have four product lines available in nuclear.”
According to Merrifield, these four product lines include traditional gigawatt-size nuclear power plants, small modular reactors, advanced reactors and micro reactors.
While “data center folks [are] evaluating all four of these products,” he noted that “some [companies] have signed deals with advanced reactor developers” and “there may be some deals with micro reactor developers, as well.”
Addressing the dramatic increase in demand, Merrifield pointed to “the significant growth in the data center interest as a whole, particularly that associated with artificial intelligence.” He explained that while data centers previously operated in the 30 to 40 megawatt range, today’s AI-driven centers are requiring hundreds—or even over 1,000—megawatts.
“That’s driven by two things,” he said. “One is obviously the power demand of the data center and the chips associated with it. Some of it is heat load. When a data center is operating, it generates a significant amount of heat.”
Looking ahead, Merrifield emphasized the long-term planning underway: “What the data center folks are looking at right now is, what are they going to do in five years and beyond? That’s really where nuclear comes into play. The folks who operate data centers recognize they have incredibly high reliability. A typical nuclear power plant in the United States operates right now at a 94 percent to 95 percent capacity factor. Very safe. And those are attractive attributes for the folks developing data centers.”
He also acknowledged the challenges ahead, particularly with regulation. “I think the limiting factor right now is, can they get through the regulatory process quickly?” However, he added, “there are things that the states can do to make that process faster.”
At the end of his interview, Merrifield emphasized the growing pace of activity in the space, noting “there are a lot of potential deals that are brewing right now” and that “we’re going to see a lot more coming out over the course of the next several years.”
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