Amazon Signs Nuclear Power Deals For Small Modular Reactors

Amazon has joined other big name tech firms in signing deals concerning nuclear power, as it seeks to meet the future energy requirements of its data centres.

Amazon announced it has signed three agreements on developing nuclear power technology called small modular reactors (SMRs), which it says are an advanced kind of nuclear reactor with a smaller physical footprint, allowing them to be built closer to the grid. There are no SMRs in the US, at the moment.

These SMRs will help Amazon satisfy the power demands from its data centres, and comes after Amazon purchased a nuclear-powered data centre from Talen Energy for $650m in March this year.

Nuclear moves

Amazon is not the only big name tech firm investing in nuclear power of late.

Google earlier this week signed what it called the world’s first corporate agreement to buy power from multiple small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs).

The Alphabet firm said it would said it would buy power from Kairos Power in a move that it said would send a demand signal to the market, while making a long-term investment in the industry to accelerate its commecialisation.

Google said it would buy a total of 500 megawatts of power from six to seven reactors, which it said should go online from 2030 to 2035.

Meanwhile Microsoft last month signed a deal with Constellation Energy to restart a portion of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania, the site of the worst-ever US nuclear accident in 1979.

Renewable energy goal

Now Amazon has said that as the energy needs of our business and customers continue to grow, it is continuing to invest in renewables while also finding additional sources of carbon-free energy that can both help power its operations and bring new sources of energy to the grid.

“Nuclear power is one part of that mix – it can be brought online at scale, and has a decades-long record of providing a reliable source of safe carbon-free energy for communities around the world, said the firm.

Amazon pointed out that it recently matched all of the electricity consumed by its global operations with 100 percent renewable energy – seven years ahead of its 2030 goal.

Amazon had also pledged in 2019 to be carbon neutral and meet the goals of the Paris accord by 2040. CEO Jeff Bezos also at the same time said that Amazon would purchase 100,000 electric delivery vans from a start-up that his firm has invested in (namely Rivian).

Three deals

“Today, we’re announcing that we’ve signed three new agreements to support the development of nuclear energy projects – including enabling the construction of several new Small Modular Reactors (SMRs),” said the firm.

“SMRs are an advanced kind of nuclear reactor with a smaller physical footprint, allowing them to be built closer to the grid. They also have faster build times than traditional reactors, allowing them to come online sooner.”

“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).

“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.”

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Amazon said that in Washington, its 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 – enough to power the equivalent of more than 770,000 US homes.

These projects will help meet the forecasted energy needs of the Pacific Northwest beginning in the early 2030s.

Amazon also said it is making an investment in X-energy, a leading 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.

Meanwhile in Virginia, Amazon has 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 megawatts of power to the Virginia region, where Dominion projects that power demands will increase by 85 percent over the next 15 years.

Amazon has also previously signed an agreement to co-locate a data centre facility next to the Talen Energy’s nuclear facility in Pennsylvania, which will directly power its data centres with carbon-free energy, and helps preserve this existing reactor.