The Anti-Nuclear Playbook Comes for Data Centers

[Marlin]

The Anti-Nuclear Playbook Comes for Data Centers

https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2026/09/14/the_anti-nuclear_playbook_comes_for_data_centers_1205680.html

[Core Content]

Public resistance to rising energy and water demands from artificial intelligence data centers is increasingly mirroring historical opposition to nuclear power. Critics and local officials are imposing moratoriums on new facilities, driven by concerns over grid capacity and resource depletion.

This political backlash threatens to delay the deployment of small modular reactors and other advanced nuclear technologies intended to supply clean, off-grid power to data centers. Without expedited regulatory approvals and dedicated generation sources, the resulting energy shortages could simultaneously stunt technological growth and increase electricity rates for regular consumers.

Half a century ago, raw emotion drove an anti-nuclear energy campaign that still stifles clean energy development in the U.S. Today, that same fear-driven playbook is being deployed in a campaign to s

Between 1970 and 1990, America built 95 nuclear power plants that still supply nearly a fifth of the nation's electricity, but the minor incident at Three Mile Island led to cancellation of another 67 planned builds.

The U.S. did not build another nuclear powerplant between 1996 and 2016. Even today, efforts to revitalize the nation's nuclear power industry face skepticism and legacy regulatory roadblocks.

Read the full article at RealClearEnergy:
https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2026/09/14/the_anti-nuclear_playbook_comes_for_data_centers_1205680.html