New nuclear PPAs, SMR milestones (Kairos Hermes 2 groundbreaking, X-energy IPO, Oklo 14GW pipeline), NextEra/Dominion merger, uranium at $90/lb LT, and CEG/TMI PJM delay risk since May 27.

Autoresearch: Nuclear power for AI data centers — May 27–29, 2026 update

Generated by /autoresearch on 2026-05-29. Synthesized across 3 rounds (early-exit on round 3 — no productive additional sub-questions) from 0 web pages fetched (all WebFetch 403-blocked; synthesis based on search snippets — treat hardest financials as pending primary-source confirmation), anchored by no Grokipedia entry (HTTP 403). See Provenance. Treat as raw material — review before promoting into the project. Context: vault/projects/stock-market

Summary

The nuclear-for-AI-data-centers thesis strengthened across multiple dimensions since May 27, 2026, but a material new risk emerged: the Crane Clean Energy Center (Three Mile Island Unit 1 restart), Constellation Energy's flagship near-term play, faces a PJM interconnection delay that could push the 2027 target online date to 2031 — a direct threat to Microsoft's 20-year PPA and the $1.6B restart investment. Simultaneously, Kairos Power broke ground on Hermes 2 in late April/early May (first Gen IV commercial reactor with NRC construction permit), X-Energy completed a $1.02B IPO, and Oklo's customer pipeline exceeded 14 GW. The biggest structural story of the past two weeks is the NextEra Energy / Dominion Energy merger (announced May 18, 2026, ~$67B all-stock), which consolidates two leading grid infrastructure players at the heart of the AI DC power race — likely a picks-and-shovels power infrastructure beneficiary.

Findings

PPA landscape: 9.8 GW committed, every hyperscaler signed at least one deal

As of May 2026, at least 13 nuclear power deals have been signed by tech hyperscalers totaling over 9.8 GW of committed capacity (smrintel.com tracker, search snippet). The structure:

Microsoft: 20-year PPA with Constellation for TMI Unit 1 (835 MW, targeting 2027 online). New risk: PJM interconnection process flagged the potential for interconnection delay to 2031 per Constellation Q1 2026 commentary (TIKR.com snippet). CEG stock down ~13% YTD as of May 2026.
Meta: Up to 6.6 GW across TerraPower (Natrium SFR), Oklo (Aurora SFR, 1.2 GW Ohio, pre-payment deal), Vistra, and Constellation (Meta press release).
Google: First Gen IV SMR PPA: Kairos Power Hermes 2 → 50 MW to TVA grid (Tennessee/Alabama DCs, ~2030 target) (powermag.com snippet).
Amazon: 1.92 GW from Susquehanna nuclear plant (Talen Energy, 17-year PPA through 2042).

Kairos Hermes 2 groundbreaking — first Gen IV NRC construction permit

Kairos Power broke ground on the Hermes 2 Demonstration Plant in late April/early May 2026, following NRC issuance of a construction permit — the first Gen IV commercial-scale reactor to receive an NRC construction permit (Kairos Power). Hermes 2 is a fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor (FHR), 50 MW, targeted to supply the TVA grid serving Google's Tennessee/Alabama data centers. Timeline: commercial power ~2030. Hermes 1 (low-power demo) already under nuclear construction at the same Oak Ridge site.

The NRC construction permit for a Gen IV design is a regulatory milestone that materially de-risks the technology path for subsequent commercial orders. This is the most significant SMR commercial milestone in the category since Oklo's DOE NSDA approval in March 2026.

X-Energy IPO: $1.02B raised above range (April 24, 2026)

X-Energy (Nasdaq: XE) completed its IPO on April 24, 2026, raising $1.02B at $23/share (above the $16–$19 target range), in an upsized offering (SEC 8-K — snippet only, file 403-blocked). The Xe-100 HTGR (high-temperature gas-cooled reactor) 80 MW design is primary. X-Energy had DOE ARDP funding and strategic agreements pre-IPO. The upsized raise above range signals institutional demand for SMR-pure plays.

Oklo: 14 GW pipeline, $10B+ in investments

Oklo's customer pipeline has grown to over 14 GW with commitments exceeding $10 billion (Oklo newsroom). Key: Meta pre-payment on 1.2 GW Ohio project; master agreement with Switch for up to 12 GW; 500 MW with Equinix. First Aurora powerhouse broke ground at INL in September 2025 (Neutron Bytes). Oklo + Vertiv collaboration on nuclear DC power/cooling integration announced (datacenterdynamics.com). Commercial timeline for first power delivery remains ~2030.

NextEra/Dominion merger — picks-and-shovels power infrastructure consolidation

NextEra Energy will acquire Dominion Energy in an all-stock deal valued at ~$67B, announced May 18, 2026 (CNBC snippet — domain persistent-failure). The deal unites two leading players in the AI data center power buildout, with NextEra's clean-energy expertise and Dominion's mid-Atlantic/Southeast grid footprint (major AI DC concentration). This merger, if approved by FERC/state regulators, would create a dominant power utility positioned at the intersection of nuclear, renewables, and grid transmission for the AI infrastructure wave. Not yet in the wiki; warrants a hypothesis question and possible thesis.

NuScale: No breakthrough; TVA discussions ongoing

NuScale has NRC standard design approval for 50 MW and 77 MW modules. Ongoing negotiations with ENTRA1 and TVA for up to 6 GW PPA, with no new contract announced as of late May 2026 (Motley Fool snippet). NuScale's path to commercial deployment remains dependent on securing a utility anchor customer; the company compares unfavorably to Oklo on near-term customer visibility.

Uranium: Structural repricing underway

Spot price: ~$85–86/lb in late May 2026 (easing slightly from Q1 2026 highs; futures eased below $85 in late May — "lowest in nearly two months" per investorideas.com snippet)
Long-term contract price: $90/lb in Q1 2026 — highest since 2008 (investingnews.com snippet)
Cameco (CCJ): Q1 2026 net earnings +87% YoY; EBITDA C$509M (~US$372M). India deal: $2.6B contract for 22M lbs over 9 years, deliveries 2027–2035 (SEC 6-K, snippet). Long-term committed portfolio: ~230M lbs, ~28M lbs/year average delivery next 5 years.
UEC: Analyst price target ~$18 (vs ~$13.65 current, ~+32% upside) per tickernerd.com snippet.
AI demand is driving structural repricing — utilities are prepaying for long-term contracts because they've concluded spot availability cannot be relied upon at future buildout volumes (cruxinvestor.com snippet).

Contradictions and open questions

CEG/TMI PJM interconnection delay: The wiki previously flagged TMI restart (2027) as the near-term nuclear catalyst. The PJM delay risk to 2031 is a material change. If the interconnection is delayed, CEG's stock (already -13% YTD) faces further re-rate. Worth a calibration event: prior belief was "TMI online 2027"; updated risk is "potentially 2031."
SMR commercial timelines remain 2030+: All commercial SMR deployments (Kairos, Oklo, X-Energy, TerraPower) target ~2030 or later for first power. The thesis here is long-duration — 4+ years before cash flows. Does this affect conviction given the discount rate environment?
NextEra/Dominion regulatory path: $67B utility merger subject to FERC/state PUC approvals. Regulatory risk is non-trivial. Need to track approval timeline.
NuScale no anchor customer: TVA negotiations ongoing but no PPA signed. NuScale's stock may underperform Oklo/Kairos peers until a contract is announced.

Provenance

Rounds run: 3 (round 3 was light — few productive new sub-questions after round 2; exit after two searches)

Sub-questions by round:

Round 1 (broad survey):

New nuclear PPAs or power agreements by hyperscalers/AI labs since May 27, 2026
NuScale/Kairos/X-energy/Oklo commercial milestones or contract wins in May 2026
Uranium spot price movement in late May 2026 and effect on CCJ/UEC
Constellation Energy (CEG) / Vistra nuclear restarts for data center supply

Round 2 (drill-down):

CEG Q1 2026 earnings and TMI restart status — targeted interconnection delay risk
CCJ Cameco earnings and contract updates — targeted long-term uranium price dynamics

Round 3 (resolve remaining uncertainty):

Any very recent (May 28-29, 2026) announcements — found none; latest news is NextEra/Dominion (May 18)
Kairos Hermes 2 construction permit specifics — confirmed NRC construction permit for Gen IV

Anchor source (Grokipedia):

fetch failed: HTTP 403 (consistent with 12+ day pattern in this remote execution environment)

URLs fetched: 0 successful, ~12 failed (all HTTP 403)

Search snippets used (primary evidence base):

SMR Intel nuclear data center deals tracker — deal count, hyperscaler breakdown
Motley Fool: NuScale vs Oklo May 27 — NuScale/Oklo commercial status
investorideas.com nuclear stocks AI power demand May 13 — uranium spot ~$86, late May easing below $85
investingnews.com uranium Q1 2026 review — LT contract at $90/lb, highest since 2008
Oklo newsroom: Meta Ohio 1.2 GW — pipeline >14 GW
Kairos Power Hermes 2 groundbreaking — first Gen IV NRC construction permit
TIKR on CEG Q1 2026 earnings — CEG -13% YTD, PJM delay risk flagged
CNBC: NextEra/Dominion merger May 18 — $67B deal (CNBC persistent-failure, snippet only)
SEC 6-K: Cameco India deal $2.6B — snippet, file 403-blocked
powermag.com: TVA/Google/Kairos Gen IV PPA
World Nuclear News: Kairos Hermes 2 groundbreaking
X-Energy SEC 8-K — snippet, file 403-blocked

Tools used: WebSearch, WebFetch (all 403 — snippet-only synthesis), grokipedia-fetch (all HTTP 403). Generated: 2026-05-29