Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has confirmed that the company is developing data centers that will consume more than 1GW of power.

Pichai also mentioned small modular reactors (SMRs) as a potential energy source, but did not confirm whether Google was planning on using any.

Speaking at Carnegie Mellon University's Pittsburgh campus, Pichai said that Google was one of the first companies to set a 24/7 carbon neutral energy goal for 2030.

However, he cautioned, that was before the AI power boom. "We are now working on over 1GW data centers, which I didn't think we would be thinking about just two years earlier," he said.

This will cause challenges in the short term, he admitted, but steered clear of saying whether it would mean the company will miss its 2030 goal.

In March, DCD exclusively reported that Google was building a team to develop a new carbon free strategy in light of ballooning power requirements.

Pichai called the short term "challenging," but said he was optimistic over the medium and long term because it would mean "a lot of capital investment" in new energy sources, referencing the company's geothermal partnership in Nevada.

"I see an amount of money going into SMRs for nuclear energy," he added. "When I look at the capital and innovation going into [new energy], I'm optimistic on the medium to long term."

Pichai's comments come amid a wild month for data center nuclear deals.

Oracle founder Larry Ellison said that the company plans to build a 1GW data center campus backed by three SMRs, but has yet to provide any further details.

Microsoft signed a blockbuster deal to revive a traditional nuclear power plant, purely for its data center needs.

Also last week, DCD exclusively reported that Amazon Web Services was hiring for a nuclear and small modular reactor (SMR) team lead.