A datacenter in Stockholm could be powered by a small nuclear reactor in future, if a Swedish internet service provider gets its way.
Bahnhof, which apparently used to host WikiLeaks in one of its datacenters, is understood to be investigating the possibility of installing a small modular reactor (SMR) at a datacenter being built in Hjorthagen, a district of Sweden's capital. According to a report in The Times newspaper, Bahnhof CEO Jon Karlung said the reactor could also provide enough power for 30,000 households in the surrounding area, and could be ready to go online within just a couple of years if given the go-ahead. Karlung told local TV news SVT Nyheter that it might be considered "provocative" to want to build a nuclear power station in Stockholm, but claimed there are advantages to building small power plants where required.
Datacenters in Sweden currently consume 3 terawatt hours (TWh) a year, according to SVT Nyheter, and this is estimated to double to 6TWh within just a couple of years. It isn't just Sweden where this approach is being considered. In the US, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recently finalized rules allowing construction of nuclear small modular reactors (SMRs), although not specifically for powering datacenters.
www.theregister.com
