Layer 1 · Where the power comes from

Small modular reactors (SMR)

Operators planning baseload past 2030. Google (Kairos Power), Amazon (X-energy) and Meta (Oklo, TerraPower) have signed.

The shape of it

Lead time: 2030s for meaningful capacity
Capital cost: Very high, and first-of-a-kind cost risk is real
Carbon: Effectively zero operational carbon
Maturity: emerging

Verified 2026-09-09.

The catch

Nuclear belongs in the 2030+ baseload layer, not the 2026 energisation path, unless you inherit an existing plant interconnection. Any vendor implying otherwise is selling a press release.

What it actually decides

A real answer to the decade-out question and no answer at all to the this-year question. Both things are true and the industry keeps conflating them.

What this is powering

A GB200 NVL72 rack draws 120–132 kW and a GB300 pushes 135–200 kW, against a 2026 average rack of about 27 kW. The silicon decision and the power decision are the same decision, made eighteen months apart.

Layer 2 — Silicon · GB200 NVL72 · The 150 W inference option

Weighed against

Small modular reactors (SMR) vs Grid interconnection — Two answers to the same question, both arriving in the 2030s.

Others in where the power comes from

Grid interconnection — 4-5 years typical, approaching 5 on average
Nuclear PPA (existing plants) — 1-3 years to contract; the plant already exists
On-site natural gas turbines — 12-24 months, the fastest firm power available
Behind-the-meter generation — Depends on the generation, but it skips the queue
Solar + battery storage — 18-36 months
Wind PPA — 24-48 months

Sources

www.irecruit.co

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