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Renewables blow past nuclear when it comes to cheap datacenter juice.

Study finds microgrids with wind, solar, and batteries can be built years sooner and at lower cost than SMRs

CNZ describes itself as an open research institute, founded by Octopus Energy Group in the UK, and claims to advise the State of California and Europe’s International Energy Agency as well as the British government.

While CNZ’s study applies to the UK sector, where energy costs are among the highest in the industrialized world, it is likely that the overall conclusion would still be valid in other countries as well.

Its analysis shows that renewables can meet 80 percent of the constant demand from a large datacenter over the course of a year. Offshore wind can provide the majority of load requirements, with gas generation backed by battery storage as a stopgap source of power representing the most cost-optimal mix.

Greater capacity in the on-site battery storage system would reduce the reliance on gas power, and this would likely happen over time as the cost of such systems is expected to come down, the report claims.

Fri 26 Sep 2025, Dan Robinson,
https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/26/renewables_vs_smr_datacenter/

September 29, 2025 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable