Amazon announces plan to develop 4 nuclear reactors along Columbia River

Aimee Plante
Tue, October 29, 2024 



PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Amazon has announced plans to develop four nuclear reactors along the Columbia River in Washington in an effort to consistently achieve net-zero carbon.

The facility, a small modular reactor (SMR) created in collaboration with Energy Northwest, will be stationed near the Columbia Generating Station nuclear energy facility in Richland, Wash.

Kevin Miller, Amazon’s vice president of global data centers, said the company is investing in nuclear energy to “help power our operations and provide net-new, safe sources of carbon-free energy to the grid.”

“This new SMR project is a significant step toward Amazon’s Climate Pledge commitment to reach net-zero carbon across our operations by 2040, and signifies our continued dedication to becoming a more sustainable company,” Miller said.

According to Energy Northwest, the four reactors will produce 320 megawatts of energy — and could be built out with eight additional reactors to produce up to 960 megawatts. For context, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council says an average megawatt can power 796 homes for a year.

“Amazon’s announced investment in small modular reactors gives me hope for the future of the Northwest power grid,” Benton Public Utility District GM Rick Dunn said. “Under 100% non-emitting electricity requirements, nuclear power is the only technology capable of reliably delivering the massive amounts of around-the-clock energy our society needs, while also positioning utilities to meet aggressive electrification goals. I am ecstatic and deeply grateful to Amazon for their bold and visionary leadership.”

It is not clear when the reactors will be installed and ready for use.

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WA nears energy crisis as Amazon funds nuclear reactors, sparking controversy

Taylor Winkel
Mon, October 28, 2024


WASHINGTON - A new report indicates Washington could face an energy crisis within five years as its power capacity approaches its limit.

The growing demands from AI and major tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are driving this strain on the state's energy resources.

As the ink dries on the deal Amazon just signed with Energy Northwest and X-energy, investing in four new nuclear reactors along the Columbia River in Richland — near Hanford, the most contaminated nuclear site in the U.S. — some groups are asking why we’re risking this again?

"Nuclear kills," Leona Morgan, an indigenous organizer said during a panel hosted by the organization Columbia Riverkeeper. "And nuclear is killing my people. Nuclear is what we call 'a slow genocide.’"

Morgan says the health impacts her family and other indigenous people face stem from radioactive exposure and contamination on their land.

"Just because we can’t see it, it’s out of sight out of mind, doesn’t mean it’s not happening. And if you need proof of it, come visit us," Morgan added. "See an abandoned uranium mine anywhere in the world? On Navajo, we have over 2,000."

The panel came just after Amazon's SMR announcement.

Columbia Riverkeeper maintains nuclear energy is far from clean.

"It’s the most expensive, complicated, dirtiest way to boil water," said Morgan, explaining that the carbon footprint of nuclear is only counted at the power plant, not during the process to building it and the toxic waste left behind.

Billions in federal and local funds go toward nuclear site decommissioning and cleaning every year.

Washington state just approved a record $3 billion to spend on cleanup at the Hanford site this year.

Money Amazon is investing in Small Modular Reactors near Hanford could be better invested in other renewables like solar, wind and hydro, according to Columbia Riverkeeper, which says nuclear isn’t the clean energy savior that big tech makes it out to be.

"When it comes to companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon, the public has plenty of reasons to be angry at them," panelist M.V. Ramana said. "These companies steal your data, they do bad things, they want to pretend to be good citizens. The reason they can use investment in nuclear energy as a way to pretend they are good citizens is because the hard work of convincing the public has already been done by the nuclear lobby."

Ramana is the author of the book "Nuclear is not the Solution: The Folly of Atomic Power in the Age of Climate Change." He says we should focus on energy conservation instead.

Kelly Rae, who works in corporate communications with Energy Northwest, tells Fox 13 Seattle that the permits for the SMR’s haven’t been secured yet, although lawmakers from Jay Inslee down are already lining up behind the project.

Rae says Amazon’s funding will pay for a feasibility study over the next two years, in which after they are hopeful to fund the SMR’s. If they’re successful, the energy generated from the first four reactors would be available to Amazon only. Rae says after that, other utility companies and municipalities could come to the table to help Amazon fund additional reactors to provide energy for Washingtonians.

Energy Northwest is a collection of 28 utility districts, including Seattle City Light, Tacoma Public Utilities and Snohomish County PUD. Amazon didn’t say how much it's spending on the project, or how much, if any, will come from Energy Northwest.

So far, there aren’t any other small modular reactors like the ones Amazon is investing in, operating in the U.S.


60 MW: Small Swiss nuclear reactor to supercharge data centers, feed hungry AI

Interesting Engineering
Updated Tue, October 29, 2024 


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Deep Atomic, a Switzerland-based nuclear energy startup, has unveiled plans for a small modular reactor (SMR) to satisfy data centers' growing energy demands.

The small nuclear reactor called the MK60 offers a compact and scalable solution by supplying 60 megawatts of electricity and 60 megawatts of cooling for the data centers, according to a press release by the firm.

“Data centers (DCs) are the backbone of digital innovation, but their massive energy needs have become the critical bottleneck blocking growth,” William Theron, Founder and CEO of Deep Atomic, said in the press release.

Deep Atomic's SMR is "designed to be installed on-site at data centers, delivering reliable zero-carbon electricity and energy efficient cooling, thereby significantly reducing carbon footprints, and helping data centers meet their increasingly stringent sustainability goals."

With the integrated "data center-centric design," this digital infrastructure can be zero-carbon and highly efficient in power and cooling, lowering operating costs and environmental impact.

The company claims the reactor is well-suited for energy-sucking artificial intelligence (AI) applications, cryptocurrency, and traditional cloud services.
MK60 'hits a sweet spot'

Deep Atomic has purposefully chosen a smaller 60 MW design, defying the trend of bigger 300 MW reactors typical in the nascent SMR sector.


“A 60 MW reactor with additional 60 MW of cooling capacity hits a sweet spot for data centers," stated the startup's head of engineering, Freddy Mondale, while explaining the rationale behind the reactor.

"It's large enough to power significant compute infrastructure, yet small enough to allow for modular deployment and scaling.”

The reactor's scalable power solution can benefit data centers in different locations, particularly those with restricted grid access.

Its sophisticated safety features enable placement close to urban areas, supporting edge data centers with reduced latency and speedier service for high computing.


“This size also reduces initial capital costs and project risks compared to larger SMRs, making it more attractive for DC operators," added Mondale.

"The MK60 can be deployed in multiples, allowing scalability from 60 MW up to over 1 GW to meet growing energy demands.”

By bypassing the grid restrictions, the MK60 on-site reactors allow ideal placement without putting additional load on the infrastructure. The reactor works regardless of grid reliability and continues all-weather operations around the clock.
Race to limitless nuclear power

Many companies, including tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI, have signed massive deals recently to acquire nuclear power to feed their energy-hungry data centers.

Earlier in October, Google inked the first contract in its history to purchase electricity from several SMRs, a move designed to support the company's growing energy needs driven by AI.

On the other hand, a three-mile closed island in Pennsylvania that previously operated as a US nuclear plant will reopen to meet the energy needs of Microsoft’s data centers.

Meanwhile, the Zurich-based Deep Atomic claims its MK60 reactor design policy focuses on risk mitigation and practical deployment, particularly rooted in decades-old nuclear technology tailored specifically for data centers.

“Our core philosophy is to design to be built. We're not reinventing nuclear technology, but rather refining it for data center applications," said Deep Atomic Co-founder and Chief Design Officer Rea Stark.