Amazon signs multiple agreements to develop nuclear projects

Three new agreements will support the development and construction of Small Modular Reactors as Amazon seeks to power the growing demands of its data centers. 

Amazon signs multiple agreements to develop nuclear projects
(Credit: Amazon)

Amazon announced that it has signed three new agreements to support the development of nuclear energy projects — including enabling the construction of several new Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). 

The company is the latest to strike deals for nuclear energy to power the growing demands from its data centers.

“Nuclear is a safe source of carbon-free energy that can help power our operations and meet the growing demands of our customers, while helping us progress toward our Climate Pledge commitment to be net-zero carbon across our operations by 2040,” said Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services (AWS).

In Washington, Amazon’s agreement with Energy Northwest, a consortium of state public utilities, will enable the development of four advanced SMRs. The reactors will be constructed, owned and operated by Energy Northwest, and are expected to generate roughly 320 megawatts (MW) of capacity for the first phase of the project, with the option to increase to 960 MW total.

Amazon is also making an investment in X-energy, a developer of next-generation SMR reactors and fuel, and X-energy’s advanced nuclear reactor design will be used in the Energy Northwest project. The investment includes manufacturing capacity to develop the SMR equipment to support more than five gigawatts of new nuclear energy projects utilizing X-energy’s technology.

In Virginia, Amazon signed an agreement with utility company Dominion Energy to explore the development of an SMR project near Dominion’s existing North Anna nuclear power station. This will bring at least 300 MW of power to the Virginia region, where Dominion projects that power demands will increase by 85% over the next 15 years.

“One of the fastest ways to address climate change is by transitioning our society to carbon-free energy sources, and nuclear energy is both carbon-free and able to scale—which is why it’s an important area of investment for Amazon,” said Garman. “Our agreements will encourage the construction of new nuclear technologies that will generate energy for decades to come.”

Amazon has previously signed an agreement to co-locate a data center facility next to the Talen Energy’s nuclear facility in Pennsylvania, which will directly power its data centers. As Amazon Web Services (AWS) develops the data center, Talen will supply carbon-free power directly from the Susquehanna plant through a power purchase agreement (PPA). Amazon’s cloud platform plans to expand the data center campus to up to 960 MW of power consumption.

Powering artificial intelligence (AI) through rapidly expanding data center operations is an ambitious endeavor. According to a study published by EPRI in May, data centers could consume up to 9% of U.S. electricity generation by 2030 — more than double the amount currently used.

Technology giants like Microsoft, Google and Amazon are driving significant electricity demand through this data center growth. Data centers are essential for supporting cloud services, AI development and other digital operations. The facilities require vast amounts of power to run servers, cooling systems and other infrastructure needed to store and process massive amounts of data.

While these hyperscalers continue to invest in intermittent renewable energy to narrow the power supply-demand gap, they increasingly view around-the-clock nuclear power as a good match for their similarly around-the-clock needs.

This week Kairos Power and Google signed an agreement aimed at deploying a U.S. fleet of advanced nuclear power projects totaling 500 MW by 2035.   

Under the agreement, advanced nuclear startup Kairos Power would develop, construct and operate a series of advanced nuclear plants, selling energy and ancillary services to Google under Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).

Google said the plants will be sited in relevant service territories to supply clean power to its data centers. The first deployment is targeted by 2030 to support the tech giant’s 24/7 carbon-free goals. The additional power from this agreement will complement Google’s existing use of renewables, like solar and wind.

Microsoft is helping Pennsylvania’s retired Three Mile Island Unit 1 get a new lease on life. Last month plant owner Constellation Energy announced the signing of a 20-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft that will pave the way for the launch of the Crane Clean Energy Center (CCEC) and restart of the 835 MW nuclear unit.

Under the agreement, Microsoft plans to purchase energy from the re-opened plant as part of its goal to help match the power its data centers in PJM use with carbon-free energy.

Three Mile Island was shut down in 2019. Owner Exelon decided to end operations after a financial rescue package did not come from Pennsylvania legislators.