Southern Company reported that electricity use by data centers across its system rose 55 percent in the second quarter compared with a year earlier, with more than 1.2 GW of operating load now running on the system. Its electric utilities, including Georgia Power, have signed contracts and large load agreements totaling more than 17 GW by the mid 2030s, with roughly another 8 GW in late-stage development.
Nuclear generation sits inside the financing behind that buildout. In February the Department of Energy closed a $26.5 billion loan package for Georgia Power and Alabama Power supporting more than 16 GW of firm power and grid improvements. The package covers nuclear uprates and license renewals alongside new gas generation, battery storage, hydropower modernization and more than 1,300 miles of transmission and grid work.
Chief Executive Chris Womack said he expects the United States will need additional nuclear units running by the mid 2030s, and he placed Southern outside the group likely to build the next one. He said the company has held preliminary talks with large technology customers about what role they might play in absorbing financial risk tied to future AP1000 projects, including construction cost overruns.
Georgia Power reached a 25-year agreement to serve a large computing project in Effingham County near Savannah, expected to require roughly 3.2 GW and to begin taking electric service in phases in 2028. Chief Financial Officer David Poroch said the company is now about 1 GW oversubscribed in Georgia relative to previously approved generating capacity, and he put the cost of new generating capacity at roughly $2 billion per gigawatt.
Source: Data Center Frontier - https://www.datacenterfrontier.com/energy/article/55398810/southerns-17-gw-pipeline-puts-ai-power-demand-into-utility-math