News Summary

Amazon is making significant strides in energy innovation by investing in small modular reactors (SMRs) to meet the energy demands of its AI and cloud services. The tech giant has announced plans to develop the Cascade Advanced Energy Facility in Richland, Washington, in partnership with Energy Northwest and X-energy. This facility will initially include four SMRs, each capable of producing 80 megawatts, with plans to expand to 12 units delivering a total of 960 megawatts of carbon-free energy. Construction is expected to begin before the decade’s end, with operations commencing in the 2030s. Amazon’s initiative follows similar moves by other tech companies like Google and Meta, which are also exploring nuclear energy to power their operations.