A coalition of the world’s biggest corporate energy users signed a pledge Wednesday in Houston to support a tripling of nuclear energy capacity by 2050. File photo by Focke Strangmann/EPA-EFE
March 12 (UPI) — A coalition of the world’s biggest corporate energy users signed a pledge Wednesday in Houston to support a tripling of nuclear energy capacity by 2050.
Founding signatories include tech giants Google, Amazon and Meta as well as Occidental, Dow, Allseas and OSGE.
The World Nuclear Association brought the companies together to make the pledge to support the nuclear energy goal.
It marks the first time companies outside the nuclear sector have come together across industries to push for concerted, robust nuclear power expansion to meet future global energy demand.
The pledge initiative was led by Sama Bilbao y Leon, Director General of the World Nuclear Association.
“The unprecedented support announced today by some of the world’s most influential companies to at least triple global nuclear capacity by 2050 sends a clear signal to accelerate policy, finance and regulatory changes that enable the rapid expansion of nuclear power,” he said.
“Google will continue to work alongside our partners to accelerate the commercialization of advanced nuclear technologies that can provide the around-the-clock clean energy necessary to meet growing electricity demand around the world,” Google’s Lucia Tian said.
Anti-nuclear power organizations like environmental activist group Greenpeace oppose the expansion of nuclear power, advocating sustainable solar and wind power instead.
“Nuclear reactors are inherently unsafe. Meltdowns like the ones in Fukushima or Chernobyl released enormous amounts of radiation into the surrounding communities, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate. Many of them may never come back. If the industry’s current track record is any indication, we can expect a major meltdown about once per decade,” Greenpeace said in a statement.
Greenpeace asserted that nuclear plants are not only more dangerous but are more expensive and take longer to build when what the world needs are fast, affordable and environmentally sustainable solutions.
“As global economies expand, the need for a reliable, clean, and resilient energy supply is paramount. Nuclear energy, with its ability to provide continuous power, can help meet this rising demand,” Meta’s Urvi Parekh said.
Amazon Web Services said in October it will invest $500 million in small nuclear reactors to generate electricity needed for expanding tech services, including artificial intelligence. It’s part of Amazon’s zero-carbon emissions effort.
“Accelerating nuclear energy development will be critical to strengthening our nation’s security, meeting future energy demands, and addressing climate change. Amazon supports the World Nuclear Association’s pledge, and is proud to have invested more than $1 billion over the last year in nuclear energy projects and technologies, which is part of our broader Climate Pledge commitment to be net-zero carbon by 2040,” AWS Head of Americas Energy and Water Brandon Oyer said.
“It will be a lot harder to address environmental concerns while facilitating economic development in the world without the reliable, 24/7 base load power nuclear energy provides,” Urenco Chief Commercial Officer Laurent Odeh said in a statement. “This support from large energy users is another sign for governments to enable new nuclear projects so we can accelerate construction and meet the energy needs of both industry and the public.”