Amazon has opted for nuclear power

First Google and Microsoft, now Amazon too. Google recently announced that it plans to buy electricity from nuclear reactors that are currently still under development. These are small modular reactors (SMR), and they will be supplied by Kairos Power, which will install the first such reactor by 2030.

Amazon didn't hold back and presented its vision of using Energy Northwest's SMR reactors, which will build four reactors by 2030.

Each SMR can be up to ten times smaller than a conventional nuclear power plant. If these projects come to fruition, SMR nuclear reactors will be a carbon-free energy source for large technology companies trying to use nuclear power to meet climate goals.

Energy Northwest says Amazon has agreed to "initial phase financing" near an existing nuclear power facility in Richland, Washington. The trading giant could then buy electricity from the first four modules built, with a total capacity of 320 megawatts. The deal includes "an option to further build out the site" with up to 12 units of up to 960 MW, which would be enough to power 770,000 US homes.

At the same time, Amazon invested in the startup X-energy, which is in charge of developing the reactor, which is part of the company's Energy Northwest strategy. The latter would take over the plan, implement it and also operate the reactors.

Nuclear power has become an attractive energy source for tech companies such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft as they seek to meet climate change commitments. Data centers use a lot of electricity, AI training ones even more, and that means more greenhouse gas emissions, unless those data centers run on carbon-free energy.