AI Data Centers Are Fueling a Nuclear Comeback

TL;DR: Data Center Knowledge reported on November 5, 2026 that AI-driven electricity demand is reviving nuclear investment. Citing research firm Industrial Info Resources (IIR), it says new-project spending should total about $20 billion in 2026 and climb to nearly $50 billion by 2029, after years of almost no new construction.

How much will be spent on new nuclear?

IIR expects $68.3 billion in new nuclear plant spending between late 2026 and 2029, plus around $30 billion more to expand, maintain or revamp existing facilities, according to Data Center Knowledge. The firm is tracking more than 100 nuclear energy projects across North America.

Location	Expected spending, late 2026 to 2029
Ontario and Alberta, Canada (combined)	Roughly $40 billion
Texas	$15 billion
Tennessee	$10 billion

These are IIR's projections as relayed by Data Center Knowledge, not committed budgets, and every project behind them still has to be permitted, built and connected. For a U.S. investor, the table also shows that a large share of the expected build sits across the border.

What is the federal government doing?

The U.S. Department of Energy recently offered Constellation Energy a loan of up to $5 billion to finance nuclear uprates and modernization at eight plants in Illinois, Maryland and Pennsylvania, per Data Center Knowledge. An uprate is an upgrade that lets an existing reactor produce more power. The same report says the DOE launched a program earlier this year with funding support for 2.5 GW of additional nuclear capacity by 2027 and 5 GW by 2029.

On the corporate side, Amazon is working with American Electric Power and X-energy on a 1 GW small modular reactor (SMR) project in Indiana, per the same report. Think of an SMR as a reactor built in smaller, repeatable units rather than as one giant custom plant. The idea is cheaper, faster construction. The record so far is thin.

Why are data centers pulling nuclear back in?

They need power around the clock. The Electric Power Research Institute says that in a high-growth scenario, data centers could reach 17% of U.S. power consumption by 2030, up from around 5% now, according to EnergyNow. EnergyNow adds that intermittent resources alone can't supply the 24/7 power data centers need.

Restarts are part of the answer. EnergyNow reports that the owner of the Duane Arnold plant in Iowa is aiming to bring it back online in 2029 after reaching a 25-year power supply agreement with Google.

Can nuclear arrive fast enough?

That is the question Data Center Knowledge puts to the industry, and the history is not encouraging. Vogtle Units 3 and 4 in Georgia, the last two U.S. reactors to open, were completed seven years late and cost more than double their initial budget, according to EnergyNow. In South Carolina, an audit found a two-reactor expansion's cost had ballooned from $9.8 billion to $25 billion before it was halted in 2017, TechCrunch reported.

Hyperscalers want power on their own schedules. A reactor that slips by years leaves the data center waiting or buying power elsewhere. The earlier piece on Indiana's push for nuclear power walks through the same timing gap.

What does it mean for accredited investors?

Most of this spending sits inside utilities, reactor developers and corporate power contracts, and you cannot buy into a hyperscaler's agreement with a utility. Exposure reaches you through packaging: infrastructure funds, private credit lent to power projects, and interval or evergreen wrappers that promise access. Each layer adds fees, and each makes a liquidity promise the underlying reactor may not keep.

So ask who is selling this story to you. A sponsor's deck will lead with the $50 billion. Access is not an edge here. Judgment is.

Begin with the downside. A capital figure says what will be spent. It does not say who earns a return or when. If a pitch assumes new generation arrives on schedule, its returns rest on a construction record that has often run late. For background, see Data Centers as Alternative Investments and the coverage of Valar Atomics' Utah nuclear data center plan. For the European side of the same power gap, read Could Europe's data centers revive nuclear power?

Common mistakes

Investors tend to read a research firm's spending forecast as money already committed, and the report does not say any of it is funded. They also assume a utility or corporate deal is something a retail investor can buy, which it usually is not. A fund that claims that access should show its structure, fees and redemption terms in writing before you send a dollar.

FAQ

Can AI data centers be powered by nuclear energy?

Yes, and more than one deal is public. Amazon is working with American Electric Power and X-energy on a 1 GW small modular reactor project in Indiana, per Data Center Knowledge. The Duane Arnold plant in Iowa is aimed at a 2029 restart under a 25-year Google supply agreement, according to EnergyNow.

How many nuclear plants does the U.S. have?

There are 94 operational plants across 28 states, according to EnergyNow. Around 90% of the reactors came online in the 1970s and 1980s, and just three new ones were switched on this century.

Do Americans support more nuclear power?

Mostly, yes. Some 59% of U.S. adults favored using more nuclear power in 2025, up from 43% a decade earlier, according to EnergyNow, citing Pew Research Center polling.

What to do today

If a sponsor is pitching you an AI infrastructure or energy fund, ask in writing where the power comes from, who bears the cost if new generation is delayed, and what happens to returns if it never arrives. To get this kind of independent read on private-market deals in your inbox, sign up for the free AIN briefing.

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