I was in a work meeting where they talked about a data center up in Wyoming having just successfully tested being powered with a microreactor. I didn’t even know this was a thing. After looking it up I guess it makes sense, it’s the same tech used to power nuclear submarines and spacecraft. Off-grid power is great, but what could possibly go wrong with a nuclear reactor on wheels parked in a field?

Five Things the “Nuclear Bros” Don’t Want You to Know About Small Modular Reactors

A realistic understanding of their costs and risks is critical.

NCAR runs big data centers in Wyoming for processing weather and climate models.

As far as the costs and make of the SMR, I have no idea who built it or how much the NCAR datacenter is paying, considering the context I would bet they are being funded from some research grant or the National Science Foundation or something. NCAR is a government research org, not a for-profit company, so I bet the cost is not relatable to private industry use.

I heard that the SMR is actually on the back of a semi-trailer so the size seems as advertised. I don’t know anything about the safety or security for it, waste processing, etc, but I bet is in the middle of nowhere like the datacenter itself. I don’t think the end-goal is to have it replace grid power, only to offset it. I was told that the SMR is not very good with power fluctuation levels, which data centers often have, and so extra energy needs to be stored in batteries when the system is in low demand.

My overall takeaway is that it is part of a research project, probably to aid in the development of SMRs themselves. We shall have to wait and see what becomes of it.