Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced plans to acquire a nuclear-powered data center campus as part of a multibillion-dollar deal with a U.S.-based electricity provider.
The cloud giant confirmed it will acquire the Cumulus data center complex, located next to the 2.5 gigawatt Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, as part of a $650 million deal with Talen Energy.
Talen said the deal will allow AWS to gain access to both the data center facilities and the electrical infrastructure of the adjacent nuclear station.
Talen Energy will provide AWS with direct access to power from the site, the company confirmed, and the cloud provider expects to have up to 960 megawatts of power at its disposal in the coming years.
AWS targets alternative energy sources
The announcement is the latest in a series of measures by Amazon aimed at diversifying its energy sources and reducing carbon emissions.
Last month, the company signed an agreement with Oregon-based wind farm provider Avangrid to take advantage of renewable energy sources. The site, which includes 40 wind turbines, is capable of generating up to 90 megawatts of power.
Throughout 2023, Amazon increased its investments in renewable energy and company statistics show that it was the Largest corporate buyer of clean energy sources worldwide.investing in more than 100 solar and wind energy projects.
This increase in renewable energy funding forms a central part of its efforts to achieve net zero emissions by 2040.
The rise of the nuclear-powered cloud
AWS is also not the only one exploring the potential of nuclear power to support data center operations. In 2022, Microsoft unveiled a power purchase agreement with US-based Helion Energy as part of a contract to build an operational nuclear fusion plant.
Media reports from September last year suggested the tech giant was hiring a senior program manager to lead its nuclear energy strategy. A job posting from the company said it was looking for someone to “lead project initiatives for all aspects of nuclear energy infrastructure for global growth.”
In January, the company hired Archana Manoharan as director of nuclear technologies to lead the development of small-scale atomic reactors.
Manoharan previously served as director of nuclear strategy and programs at Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporate (USNC), an organization specializing in the development of modular microreactor (MMR) technologies.
As data center power demand has skyrocketed globally over the past 18 months, hyperscalers are looking for alternative sources of clean energy to satisfy customers' insatiable appetite.
A recent JLL study found that the demands of generative AI and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads were pushing data center operators to the brink of collapse.
According to research, generative AI is expected to be a major driver of global electricity consumption in the coming years, with the European Commission estimating that energy demand will have increased by 60% by 2030.
The current situation means that many data center operators are struggling to meet increasing power requirements ranging between 300 MW and 500 MW, causing a drastic change in site selection criteria and design.
