US energy secretary touts nuclear power as tech sector’s thirst for electricity grows

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (news agencies) — U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright says it’s critical that the nation be out in front when it comes to artificial intelligence, and that means having reliable and affordable sources of electricity to meet the growing demands of the technology sector.

Wright made the comments Tuesday before touring Sandia National Laboratories. On Monday, he visited Los Alamos National Laboratory, home to the top secret project during World War II that created the atomic bomb.

A fossil fuel executive and graduate of MIT, Wright highlighted the labs’ legacies and said they will play a role in what he described as this generation’s Manhattan Project — a critical scientific undertaking that will change the course of the world in ways yet to be imagined.

To win the AI race, he said the nation needs reliable and affordable electricity and the infrastructure to move it around.

“I’m a believer,” Wright said, adding that nuclear power will be part of the solution.

Federal energy analysts say the U.S. has generated more nuclear electricity than any other country and that plants here have supplied close to 20% of the nation’s total annual electricity since 1990. That’s enough to power more than 70 million homes.

Nuclear power makes up less of the world’s portfolio when it comes to generating energy than other sources, Wright said. That’s despite plants having small footprints and running on small amounts of material that pack a big punch.

“It’s playing a shrinking role in our energy pot,” he said. “That doesn’t square.”