In order to cope with the huge power demand brought by its AI services and AWS cloud computing business, Amazon is actively considering "nuclear energy" as one of its clean energy options.signThe tech giant earlier this year signed several nuclear power procurement agreements.AnnounceAn exterior view of its Small Modular Reactor (SMR) project in Richland, Washington.
The project, called the Cascade Advanced Energy Facility, is a collaboration between Amazon, Washington state utility Energy Northwest, and X-energy, a developer of small modular nuclear reactors.
Adopting modular design, the total power generation capacity is expected to reach 960MW
The main advantage of small modular nuclear reactors is that their footprint is much smaller than that of traditional nuclear power plants, but they can still be flexibly expanded through modular design.
Amazon's Cascade facility will prioritize the deployment of four small modular nuclear reactors in the first phase, initially generating 320 megawatts (MW). The facility also has the option to expand to 12 units in the future, increasing total generating capacity to 960 MW. This will provide Amazon's data centers with a stable and robust supply of carbon-free electricity.
In terms of schedule, Amazon said that the project is expected to start construction at some point before 2030 and hopes to be officially operational during 2030.
Tech giants are vying for nuclear energy to meet AI computing power needs
Of course, in the energy race triggered by the AI wave, Amazon is not the only technology giant that has set its sights on nuclear power generation.
Google announced in October 2024 that it would cooperate with nuclear energy companiesKairos PowerMicrosoft has also announced a partnership with Constellation Energy to build seven small modular nuclear reactors across the United States.Three Mile Island Nuclear Power PlantResume operations.
In November 2024, Meta also announced plans to build an AI data center powered by nuclear energy. However, the plan was reportedly delayed due to an accidental discovery ofRare bee species, which forced the planning progress to be temporarily shelved, and the subsequentSigned a 20-year cooperation agreement, and is expected to purchase nuclear power from its Clinton Clean Energy Center in southern Illinois.
Obviously, in order to support the massive computing power required by AI, stable and clean nuclear energy has become the next key layout for major technology companies.
