Data Centers Are Running Out of Power — And Behind-The-Meter Generation Could Be the Answer

NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Market News Updates News Commentary Counter- The AI boom has created a problem that has nothing to do with chips — there simply isn’t enough electricity available fast enough. Data centers are getting bigger, AI workloads are getting more power-hungry, and connecting a new facility to the traditional power grid can take years. That is why behind-the-meter power is suddenly getting so much attention. Instead of waiting around for the grid, data center operators can put power generation right next to the facility. Natural gas, batteries, solar, fuel cells and other technologies can all play a role. The numbers are getting huge: the IEA expects global data center electricity consumption to roughly double from 485 TWh in 2025 to about 950 TWh by 2030. Active companies in the nuclear and behind the meter industries include: Elemental Nuclear Energy Corp., Constellation Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: CEG), NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE: SMR), Oklo Inc. (NYSE: OKLO), NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NNE), Brookfield Renewable (NYSE: BEP).

And here’s where the investment opportunity gets really interesting. Enverus Intelligence Research estimates that hyperscalers could spend roughly $5 trillion through 2030 to build 62 GW of off-grid, natural-gas-fired power for data centers. That is an enormous potential infrastructure buildout — and it shows just how valuable getting power quickly has become. The demand is already showing up in the real world. Chevron, for example, is developing a 2.67-gigawatt power plant in Texas tied to a long-term Microsoft data center agreement, while other energy companies are pursuing similar onsite power deals. This is no longer just a backup-power story. Power itself is becoming part of the data center business model.

Why this market deserves immediate attention:

• $5 trillion: Estimated hyperscaler spending through 2030 on off-grid power for data centers.
• 62 GW: Estimated off-grid natural-gas generation capacity tied to that spending.
• 950 TWh: IEA projection for global data center electricity consumption by 2030.
• 1,200 TWh: IEA projection for global data center electricity consumption by 2035.
• Power is the bottleneck: A data center can’t make money until it has electricity.
• AI is driving demand: AI-focused data centers are consuming power at a much faster rate than traditional facilities.
• Behind-the-meter solves a timing problem: Operators can pursue onsite generation instead of waiting years for grid capacity.
• Multiple technologies can win: Natural gas, batteries, solar, fuel cells, microgrids and potentially nuclear can all participate.
• Massive infrastructure opportunity: More data centers mean more demand for generation, storage and power-management equipment.
• The key investment theme: AI needs data centers — and data centers need enormous amounts of power.

Sandia National Laboratories, Approves Strategic Partnership Project With Elemental Nuclear to Advance Supercritical CO₂ Brayton Cycle Power Generation - Elemental Nuclear Energy Corp. (“Elemental” or the “Company”) today announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), through Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), has approved a Strategic Partnership Project (SPP) with the Company to support the development of Elemental Nuclear’s supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂)–based Brayton Cycle Generator (BCG) systems.

Sandia National Laboratories is internationally recognized as a leader in closed-loop, recompression Brayton cycle systems and components, and operates one of the world’s foremost sCO₂ test facilities. Under the partnership, Sandia and Elemental Nuclear will collaborate to design, build, and demonstrate advanced sCO₂ power generation technology across two system scales.

The first system is a 1 MWe natural-gas-and-waste-heat-fired power and cooling system targeted for use in small modular data centers and remote military installations. Elemental then plans to develop a scaled-up 10 MWe-scale unit engineered to operate with a range of heat sources, including the Elemental ISTR nuclear reactor. The larger system will focus on behind-the-meter power applications for data centers, microgrids, and industrial customers.

Through this work, Elemental Nuclear expects to become the first company in the world to demonstrate the long-term viability of sCO₂ Brayton cycle power generation systems at this scale. The first system is expected to be operable in 2027, supporting commercial system deliveries beginning in 2028.

“Approval of this Strategic Partnership Project is a major validation of Elemental’s vision and an important milestone for our company,” said David Blythe, Chief Executive Officer of Elemental Nuclear. “Working alongside Sandia National Laboratories — the world’s foremost authority on Brayton cycle systems — we intend to prove that sCO₂ power generation can be delivered reliably and at commercial scale, as a viable source of on-site power to data centers, industrial operators, and critical installations.”

The collaboration builds on Elemental Nuclear’s broader mission to develop advanced nuclear and next-generation power conversion technologies that address growing demand for dependable, high-density electricity — particularly for powering the critical needs of data centers and other energy-intensive industries. Continued… Read this full release for Elemental Nuclear by visiting: https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-en/

In other recent Nuclear/Energy industry news of note:

Constellation Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: CEG) has filed license renewal applications with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to extend the operations of Ginna Clean Energy Center and Nine Mile Point Unit 1 reactors in upstate New York to 2049. Constellation's decision to invest in these plants to extend their safe and reliable operations into mid-century demonstrates that New York State's renewal of its Zero Emissions Credit (ZEC) program is working as intended.

“We commend Governor Hochul and the Public Service Commission for recognizing the unmatched safe, reliable, zero-emission power our upstate nuclear fleet delivers and for taking actions to keep these key assets running,” said Joe Dominguez, president and CEO of Constellation. “Constellation's four upstate nuclear units provide nearly half of the state's clean power, support thousands of family-sustaining jobs and generate millions in local tax revenue.”

Renewal of the ZEC program is projected to deliver $50 billion in ratepayer savings by 2050, contribute $38 billion to New York's economy, secure 14,000 good-paying, local jobs for decades to come, and preserve $10 billion in tax revenue for the state.

Paragon, a Mirion Technologies company and a leading supplier of safety-related products and components for the nuclear industry, has been awarded a contract by NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE: SMR), the industry-leading provider of proprietary and innovative advanced small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear technology, to complete final design development of Paragon's Highly Integrated Protection System (HIPS) for the NuScale Power Module^™ (NPM). NuScale has the first and only SMR design to be approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

The award marks a significant milestone, as NuScale already has certain components of 12 power modules in production. We anticipate that nuclear plants that deploy NPMs will feature one common control room that supports up to 12 NuScale Power Modules, each capable of generating up to 77 megawatts of clean, carbon-free power.

Under the contract, Paragon will complete the non-recurring engineering and design deliverables for three critical instrumentation and control systems built on the HIPS platform. The Module Protection System (MPS) is a nuclear safety-related reactor protection system that safeguards each individual NPM. The Safety Display and Indication System (SDIS) is an augmented quality, post-accident monitoring system that provides operators with essential plant data in the event of an incident. The Plant Protection System (PPS) is a non-safety-related system responsible for control room habitability functions such as HVAC. The contract also includes Independent Verification and Validation services for MPS development, an important step in qualifying safety-critical software for nuclear applications.

Oklo Inc. (NYSE: OKLO), an advanced nuclear technology company, recently announced it received startup authorization for its Groves Isotope Test Reactor. This authorization, granted under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Reactor Pilot Program, completes DOE’s authorization process and clears the way for fuel loading, startup testing, and reactor operations. Groves is a low-power test reactor designed to demonstrate reactor design, build, and operations, and to establish operating experience needed to support future isotope production facilities. The project advances Oklo’s plans to establish domestic production of critical isotopes for potential use in cancer care, manufacturing, scientific research, space exploration, and national security.

Groves, a privately financed facility, demonstrates nearly every element of a commercially oriented deployment model that Oklo can repeat and scale across future projects. The facility was built on private land, including full-scale civil excavation and construction, and assembled with all full-scale systems, components, and fuel either sourced commercially or manufactured by Oklo.

“This facility marks the fastest time that we are aware of to go from greenfield to substantial completion for a full-scale, privately funded and sited reactor in history,” said Oklo co-founder and CEO Jacob DeWitte. “By building on a greenfield site on private land, performing full-scale civil excavation and construction, and procuring fuel and all major components commercially, we demonstrated that the advanced nuclear industry can move at a pace that many did not believe possible. And this experience is fully translatable to future commercial deployments.”

NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NNE), a leading advanced nuclear micro modular reactor and technology company focused on developing clean energy solutions, recently announced its advancement of a strategic engineering collaboration with internationally recognized engineering and consulting firm Fortil, related to the design of the Fuel Handling & Storage System for the Company's proprietary KRONOS MMR^™ Energy System.

The Fuel Handling & Storage System is a critical subsystem that is an essential part of the KRONOS MMR^™ architecture, supporting the safe handling, storage, and management of nuclear fuel throughout reactor operations. Under the collaboration with NANO Nuclear’s engineering team, Fortil’s dedicated nuclear engineering team is responsible for the multidisciplinary engineering and design of the subsystem, leveraging expertise across mechanical engineering, systems engineering, nuclear safety, instrumentation and control, and radiation protection.

Fortil has extensive experience delivering multidisciplinary engineering services for the nuclear energy industry. The collaboration leverages Fortil's expertise in nuclear engineering, systems integration, and specialized fuel handling solutions to accelerate the development of a robust, integrated fuel handling system supporting the KRONOS MMR^™ as it progresses toward commercialization and deployment.

Brookfield Renewable Partners L (NYSE: BEP) recently announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Aypa Power (“Aypa”) from funds managed by Blackstone Energy Transition Partners (“Blackstone”) for approximately $7 billion enterprise value at closing, or an equity value of $3 billion. Aypa is the largest standalone battery storage developer in North America, with a highly contracted and diversified portfolio across attractive power markets in the United States and Canada.

Under the terms of the agreement, Brookfield will acquire Aypa's operating, under-construction and contracted project portfolio, together with its development platform and approximately 200-person team. The transaction provides Brookfield with a leading presence in the North American battery energy storage systems (“BESS”) market, and will help Aypa deliver on its next phase of growth, supported by Brookfield's differentiated operating and development competencies, procurement, commercial and capital markets capabilities.

Brookfield is pursuing the investment through the second vintage of its flagship global transition strategy, alongside its institutional partners including Brookfield Renewable Partners.

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