By Mrinalika Roy

April 30 (Reuters) - Uranium miner Cameco Corp's ( CCJ )

chief executive said on Tuesday projected demand from

data centers powering technology like generative AI will likely

be a boost for nuclear energy.

Over the past year, big technology companies have been

racing to build data centers needed to power applications such

as OpenAI's viral chatbot, ChatGPT, as they try to capitalize on

what is expected to be the industry's next key growth driver.

Chatbots like ChatGPT require about 10 times the energy as a

Google search.

"Gone are the days of rolling out new technology without

worrying about future potential runway environmental impacts.

Companies driving the technology forward are doing so while

keeping carbon footprint and 24/7 reliability top of mind ...

nuclear is the clear winner," CEO Timothy Gitzel said during a

post-earnings call.

Many industrial power users and tech sector experts are

signing agreements to ensure their facilities can access

zero-carbon and reliable nuclear energy now and into the future,

he said.

Overall, power use from the thousands of giant computing

warehouses that comprise data centers is expected to triple

globally from less than 15 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2023 to 46

TWh this year, according to Morgan Stanley Research.