Bitcoin miners saw the AI power crunch coming - and the nuclear revival

AI-driven data center demand is reviving nuclear power across the US, and Bitcoin miners were among the first to tap nuclear energy to run high-performance computing operations.

Nuclear power is gaining renewed attention in the United States as artificial intelligence and data center expansion drive demand for reliable, large-scale electricity.

According to the latest Miner Weekly newsletter from TheEnergyMag, recent annual filings suggest that major utilities and power producers believe the United States may be entering a “nuclear renaissance.”

The publication cited recent annual filings showing that utilities are linking the revival to long-term power contracts with AI hyperscalers such as Microsoft, Amazon and Meta Platforms.

Rather than relying solely on renewable energy credits to offset emissions, some hyperscalers are now backing entire nuclear facilities to secure around-the-clock carbon-free electricity, the publication said.

While major technology companies are increasingly turning to nuclear energy to secure long-term power supplies, Bitcoin miners were among the first to experiment with colocating high-performance computing next to large baseload energy sources.

The newsletter notes that miners recognized early that nuclear power - once viewed as a declining industry - could become critical infrastructure for the next generation of high-performance computing.

One early example was TeraWulf, which in 2021 formed a joint venture with Pennsylvania-based Talen Energy to develop the Nautilus Cryptomine facility next to the Susquehanna nuclear power plant. As TheEnergyMag reported, the mining operation was designed to draw electricity directly from the nuclear facility.

Nuclear power’s role in Bitcoin mining has been growing

The link between Bitcoin mining and nuclear energy isn’t new.

As early as 2022, researchers at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance - a research institute at the University of Cambridge that studies digital asset markets - reported that nuclear power had already been gaining ground in Bitcoin mining for several years.

According to the center’s data, nuclear energy accounted for about 4% of Bitcoin mining in 2021, rising to nearly 9% in 2022.

That share has since edged closer to 10%, while sustainable energy sources overall, including nuclear, hydropower and wind, now account for about 52.4% of Bitcoin mining’s electricity consumption.