Amazon turns to nuclear power to power AI facilities

Tech company Amazon recently signed an agreement with Talen Energy, a power infrastructure and provider, to power 1,920 megawatts (MW) of nuclear power and fuel AI data centers in Pennsylvania in 2042.

According to a notice from Talen, the energy will be produced in the company’s Susquehanna nuclear facility and power the region’s Amazon facilities and explore other plans for small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) technology.

Energy will be provided through the power grid, not directly from the nuclear power plant. This arrangement will help support the maintenance of the energy grid through service fees paid by Amazon.

Under the agreement, energy transmission company PPL Electric Utilities will be responsible for delivering electricity to Amazon. Christine Martin, president of PPL Power Company, said:

“Connecting large load customers (such as data centers) to our transmission systems helps to lower the transmission portion of all customers’ energy bills, as large load customers pay a lot of transmission fees on our network.”

The move reflects the growing demand for high-energy output infrastructure for AI and high-performance computing data centers, as AI development becomes a key priority for global leaders.

Related: Amazon doubles AI with $20B Pennsylvania investment

Tech giants turn to nuclear energy to fund AI ambitions

In September 2024, tech company Microsoft signed an agreement with Constellation Energy Corporation to reopen three miles of island nuclear sites and provide power to its AI data centers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0t3wkl8nj8

The 20-year deal includes 835 MW of nuclear power delivered to technology companies, with the aim of bringing the facility online by 2028.

Recently, on June 3, social media and technology company Meta agreed to purchase 1.1 GW of nuclear power from the constellation for 20 years from PAWE AI facilities.

The shift to nuclear energy generation has become backed by several U.S. lawmakers and political leaders who urge innovation on the AI ​​front to avoid lagging behind international competitors.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly issued calls to put more resources into nuclear power production to meet the needs of AI, cryptocurrency mining and other high-performance computing applications.

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