Tech firms and Silicon Valley billionaires have been pouring money into nuclear energy for years, pitching the sustainable power source as crucial to the green transition. While generative AI has grown at lightning speed, nuclear power projects are heavily regulated and usually advance at a plodding pace. That's raising questions about whether advances in nuclear energy can cut emissions as swiftly as energy-guzzling AI and other fast-growing technologies are adding to them. The nuclear power industry hasn't meaningfully expanded its share of the U.S. energy mix for decades. By one estimate, up to 800 gigawatts of new nuclear power will be needed by 2050 to meet current green energy targets.

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Persons: Sarah Myers West, Myers, Sam Altman, OpenAI, Altman, Jacob DeWitte, Oklo, hadn't, You've, DeWitte, Oklo's Organizations: Silicon, CNBC, Helion Energy, Microsoft, federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Air Force, NRC, Idaho National Laboratory, Energy Department, Pew Research Locations: Idaho, Ohio, United States, Alaska, U.S, Ukraine, Fukushima, Japan