In recent years, there has been a revived interest in nuclear energy: countries around the world have started to develop ambitious nuclear energy plans or expand their existing fleets of nuclear reactors. Korea is no exception to this trend; new reactor plans have been approved, and Korean nuclear technology exportation is being vigorously promoted by the government for foreign income. This is largely attributed to the surging demand in electricity—especially from facilities that are always in need of large quantities of energy, such as manufacturing industries and the emerging artificial intelligence (AI) industry. In particular, the advancement of the AI industry plays a major role in driving up the rate of consumption in electricity. This is due to the data centers that process and analyze massive quantities of data, a necessary procedure in AI development. The sheer scale of energy consumption is best exemplified by the fact that a single ChatGPT query consumes around 10 times more electricity than one standard Google search, according to an article published by the Goldman Sachs. Thus, as AI develops, it is undoubtedly to further increase the electricity demand, and nuclear energy can be a potential candidate to fill up this gap. 

Despite the public’s doubts about nuclear energy due to its various challenges and past traumas, the impetus of the nuclear renaissance seems unstoppable. Although the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident had stunted the development of nuclear energy for several years, it has recently been proposed as one of the most promising energy alternatives to cope with the surging electricity demand, whilst complying with the global carbon targets, which have been set to mitigate climate change. This is largely because it is both carbon-free and more stable than other contemporary carbon-free energy sources. There is no direct carbon produced in nuclear fission reactions, and each reaction can still produce a huge amount of energy. In addition, compared to other renewable energy alternatives such as solar or wind energy—which are susceptible to unpredictable weather conditions—nuclear energy can, in theory, work around the clock. Hence, nuclear energy has gained attention as an attractive solution to meet energy demands without the concerns regarding existing energy options.

Many major tech firms have already embraced nuclear power for AI development, already moving into the action stage from the conception stage. In September of 2024, Microsoft signed a deal with the energy company Constellation, to revive the reactor in the Three Mile Island site, home to one of the most disastrous nuclear power accidents in history. In October, Google reached an agreement with Kairos Power to realize a new advanced reactor design to support AI progress. Moves taken by these firms have largely swept away the mystifying haze around nuclear energy and have fuelled support for the energy source with confidence. Despite this, one may argue that the safety of nuclear energy is still questionable. There have undeniably been tragic nuclear accidents in the past, such as the ones in Chernobyl and Fukushima. However, the figures from the Our World in Data website shows that coal—the current largest electricity source—has a mortality rate of 24.6 deaths per terawatt-hour of electricity produced, making it the deadliest. Meanwhile, nuclear and other renewable sources like wind and solar energy have mortality rates of 0.03, 0.04, and 0.02 respectively. This shows that nuclear energy is indeed safe, with fatal accidents being comparatively rare. The unresolved issues regarding nuclear waste management is a dilemma that continues to plague the industry; still, there are solutions in the works.

Nuclear energy may not be the ultimate solution for every country, but it is the only energy option that is stable, sustainable, and easily scalable. With rapid research and development on new nuclear technologies like safer designs and solutions in managing the spent nuclear fuel, nuclear energy should continue to be considered to tackle the demand from AI development. As AI development continues to soar, the revival and prosperity of nuclear power is to be expected. We should be open to all possible solutions to the energy problem, judging based on scientific justification rather than only political preferences or populistic claims.