The resurgence of nuclear energy seems unstoppable: Amazon signs three agreements to develop and build SMR reactors

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is driving the resurgence of nuclear power. This year’s trend began with Microsoft reaching a deal to reopen the Three Mile Island power plant that had stopped operating in 2019. This move was followed by Google’s plan to build seven modular nuclear reactors (SMR) to power some of its upcoming data centers.

Now it’s Amazon’s turn, who has just signed three agreements. The first is with Energy Northwest, a Washington-based consortium of utilities that will build four nuclear reactors. These are units that will generate about 320 megawatts (MW) of capacity during the first phase of the project, although the possibility of reaching 960 MW in total is contemplated.

The second agreement has been finalized with X-energy. Here we are talking about a company dedicated to developing SMR reactors and next generation fuel. The reactor designed by X-energy, in fact, will be used in the Energy Northwest plants. However, Amazon also plans to use this technology for independent projects, although we will have to wait for more details.

Finally, the technology company has closed a deal with the utility company Dominion Energy. The idea is for an “SMR project” to be developed near Dominion’s currently active North Anna nuclear power plant. If everything goes according to plan, 300 megawatts of energy will be added to the region, where a notable increase in electricity consumption is expected.

Amazon hopes these projects will begin to come to fruition in the early 2030s, but the company is not completely new to the nuclear world. In March of this year, let us remember, spent 650 million dollars when purchasing a data center located next to a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania operated by Talen Energy to directly supply energy from this plant.

The resurgence of nuclear energy not only comes from big technology companies, but also from some countries that are betting on it again. Japan is restarting reactors that had been inactive since the Fukushima accident and French President Emmanuel Macron envisions a future with new plants. But there are also some exceptions.

Germany, which had decided to delay the closure of its plants, ended up saying goodbye completely to nuclear energy in 2023. Spain, for its part, is going in the same direction. The country’s nuclear power plants are expected to stop working between 2027 and 2035. This calls for the creation of a portable laboratory for dismantling and a radioactive waste cemetery.

Images | Amazon (1, 2)

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