Amazon Web Services has signed three new agreements to develop nuclear power projects for energizing its massive data centers, including one with Virginia’s Dominion Energy.
The Dominion agreement includes exploring the development of Small Modular Reactors, a kind of nuclear reactor with a smaller physical footprint that allows them to be built closer to the grid, and with faster build and delivery times. The project would be near Dominion’s existing nuclear power facilities at Virginia’s Lake Anna.
There was no development timeline disclosed.
The Lake Anna project would bring at least 300 megawatts of power to the Virginia region, where Dominion projects that power demand is expected to increase by 85% over the next 15 years.
Virginia is already home to the majority of U.S. data centers, with most of them being in Loudoun County and Manassas. Amazon Web Services owns or is developing many of them. About 70% of them are in Northern Virginia’s “Data Center Alley.”
“Small modular nuclear reactors will play a critical role in positioning Virginia as a leading nuclear innovation hub,” Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a statement. “Amazon Web Services’ commitment to this technology and their partnership with Dominion is a significant step forward to meet the future power needs of a growing Virginia.”
Dominion is one of three SMR agreements totaling $500 million Amazon announced.
Others include similar development projects with Energy Northwest in Washington State, and an investment in X-energy, a company developing next-generation SMR reactors and fuel. It also recently signed an agreement to co-locate a data center next to the Talen Energy nuclear facility in Pennsylvania.
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