amazon is investing in small nuclear reactors, the company said Wednesday, just two days after Google made a similar announcement as both tech giants seek new carbon-free sources of electricity to meet growing demand from data centers and artificial intelligence.
The plans come as the owner of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant signaled last month that it plans to restart the reactor so the tech giant Microsoft can acquire electricity to power its data centers. All three companies have invested in solar and wind technologies, which generate electricity without producing greenhouse gases. Now, they say they need to go further in their pursuit of clean energy to meet demand and their own commitments to reduce emissions.
Nuclear energy is a climate solution since its reactors do not emit the greenhouse gases that come from thermoelectric plants powered by fossil fuels, such as oil, coal and gas. Energy demand is increasing around the world as buildings and vehicles become electrified. People used more electricity than ever last year, putting greater strain on power grids around the world. Data centers and artificial intelligence also account for a large part of the demand.
The International Energy Agency predicts that Total data center electricity consumption could reach more than 1,000 terawatt-hours by 2026more than double that in 2022. Calculations indicate that one terawatt-hour can power 70,000 homes for a year.
“AI is driving a significant increase in the number of data centers and electricity required on the grid,” said Kevin Miller, vice president of global data centers at Amazon Web Servicesadding: “We see the new advanced nuclear capability as really key and essential.”
The Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholmsaid she was excited by the fact that Amazon is the latest company to generate its own electricity for the development of data centers. Granholm participated in an announcement event Wednesday at Amazon’s alternate headquarters in Virginia. The governor of that state and two federal senators also attended.
The United States aims to achieve 100% clean electricity production by 2035. Granholm said small modular reactors are a “huge piece to solving this puzzle” and a way to phase out electricity generated by fossil fuels, while meeting the growing demand for electricity from data centers and new factories. . He said his department will provide $900 million to deploy more such reactors.