Texas-based HGP Intelligent Energy has submitted a letter to the US Department of Energy (DOE) proposing to use two retired nuclear reactors at a Tennessee data centre project. HGP says on its website that it “finances projects that retool, repower, repurpose, or replace energy infrastructure that has ceased operations.”
It is proposing to use two reactors, which formerly powered Navy aircraft carriers, to provide 420-520 MWe for a data centre at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Eastern Tennessee. It estimates costs at $1-4m per megawatt and is anticipating it would need around $2bn in private capital for the project. HGP plans to file for a DOE loan guarantee.
HGP Intelligent Energy is part of HGP Storage, an energy company that has developed several battery energy storage systems (BESS) across Texas, primarily in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
US aircraft carriers and submarines are each equipped with two reactors, either A4W units made by Westinghouse Electric or S8G-class units made by General Electric. Rewiring two of them would cost a fraction of building new reactor, according to HGP.
However, naval reactors are optimised for propulsion rather than grid power, use highly enriched fuel that raises regulatory and security concerns, and would require extensive redesign and safety review before they could operate in a civilian context.
