Brief:
In a bold move underscoring its commitment to sustainable energy, Amazon has entered into three pivotal agreements aimed at the growth and implementation of small modular reactors (SMRs) within the United States, as reported today.
First, the tech giant has joined forces with Energy Northwest, a collaborative comprising 29 public utility districts and municipalities throughout Washington, to establish a deployment of four X-energy reactors. These advanced units are set to collectively produce around 320 MW of electricity, anticipated to come online in the early 2030s.
In tandem with this venture, Amazon unveiled an equity investment in X-energy, which is part of a broader fundraising initiative amounting to roughly $500 million, announced earlier by the pioneering nuclear technology firm. Furthermore, a separate memorandum of understanding with Dominion Energy was disclosed—aiming to explore cutting-edge development frameworks that could accelerate potential SMR projects in Virginia.
Insight:
Amazon’s significant announcements follow closely on the heels of Google’s own commitment, revealed just a day prior, to partner with Kairos Power for generating 500 MW of new electricity capacity by 2035. Moreover, it arrives less than a month after Constellation Energy entered into a 20-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft, facilitating the revival of the 835-MW Unit 1 reactor at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station.
While Microsoft and Google are actively involved in the Advanced Clean Electricity initiative—an effort driven to foster the emergence of clean, reliable power technologies like advanced nuclear—Amazon’s trajectory towards achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 is distinct, as it engages in separate endeavors, albeit with a clear focus on environmental stewardship.
Previously, Amazon had announced an arrangement with Talen Energy to gradually procure electricity from the latter’s substantial 2,228-MW stake in the Susquehanna nuclear facility, designed specifically to fuel a data center co-located with the plant. Although, this arrangement has raised eyebrows, as AEP and Exelon caution that the deal may shift up to $140 million in transmission costs onto consumers.
At the heart of Amazon’s current strategy is the robust pursuit of SMRs, targeting their seamless integration into the United States electrical grid. The partnership with X-energy promises to catalyze advancements in reactor design and licensing, along with the establishment of a fuel fabrication facility in Tennessee, as detailed in a recent X-energy announcement.
More ambitiously, Amazon and X-energy are collaborating to introduce over 5 GW of fresh nuclear energy projects across the U.S. by 2039. This includes not just direct project investments but a standardized approach to deployment and financing that encompasses utility and infrastructure collaborations—essentially setting the stage to meet escalating energy demands whilst securing Amazon’s operational needs.
The initial phase of the Energy Northwest collaboration envisions the installation of four 80-MW Xe-100 SMRs at the Columbia Generating Station located in Richland, Washington, with potential future expansions adding eight more, thereby augmenting the site’s total SMR capacity to an impressive 960 MW.
In a separate venture, X-energy is working on a pioneering four-module, 320-MWe power plant positioned at a Dow chemical plant in Texas. This ambitious project, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, is expected to mark the first deployment of an advanced grid-scale nuclear reactor for industrial use in North America, efficiently generating both electricity and high-temperature steam.
The Xe-100 reactor is poised to utilize cutting-edge TRISO fuel pellets produced at X-energy’s fabrication facility in Tennessee. This novel fuel form employs high-assay, low-enriched uranium—a more enriched variant compared to traditional low-enriched uranium.
Finally, through its strategic MOU with Dominion Energy, Amazon aims to establish an SMR in close proximity to the North Anna nuclear generating station, contributing a minimum of 300 MW of fresh capacity to the Virginia electrical grid, though specific reactor designs remain undecided at this juncture.