The US Army has announced that it plans to equip five of its bases, located in several states from New York to Texas, with nuclear microreactors, indicating that these facilities are a reliable and independent source of energy from the commercial electricity grid, the Associated Press reported, BTA reported.
In recent years, electricity consumption in the United States has increased sharply, partly due to data centers.
Against this background, Donald Trump's administration is actively promoting the development of nuclear energy, including by granting billions of dollars in loans for the construction of large nuclear reactors. In addition, a new program has been launched to accelerate the development of advanced reactor technologies. Projects are also being made to use these technologies not only for military but also for civilian purposes.
To date, there are no nuclear microreactors in the United States that can supply electricity to the commercial power grid.
The US Armed Forces will select five companies, which will be allocated a total of about $ 2.2 billion over a period of five years. The contractors will have to manufacture and maintain the nuclear microreactors at the respective military bases. The companies will have to meet certain requirements for the efficiency and functioning of the microreactors.
The Armed Forces plan to deploy more than 20 nuclear microreactors.
Representatives of the military and industry say that microreactors are a sustainable and reliable source of energy for critical infrastructure at military sites in the event of an interruption in the power supply from the general grid. Reactors can operate for years without needing to be refueled.