The United States May Have a Major Power Shortage

I attended our Fall SIOR National Conference in Los Angeles, and one of the sessions discussed how and why our country will experience increased energy shortfalls. One speaker said that a Chatgpt search uses 17 times more energy than a Google search, and we are seeing huge demand increases for data centers across the Country. In many cases data centers are being located next to existing power sources like operating nuclear facilities and power stations. A second major demand for electricity is coming from electric vehicles. A major industrial developer said that some of the U.S. ports are requiring trucks to not use diesel but be electric to get on the property to reduce pollution, and this is requiring construction of major charging hubs .This allows the trucks to be able to return to the warehouse. Warehouse facilities are also being impacted, as you need land to facilitate truck charging stations. Warehouse and distribution facilities are using more robotics, again adding to more need for electricity. There was discussion of SMR, Small Nuclear Reactors, which can be located at factories. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission just last year certified the first Small Modular Reactor Design which generates emissions-free electricity. What are your experiences with this?