Short answer: Amazon has not yet deployed small modular reactors (SMRs) to power AWS data centers. AWS already uses an arrangement tied to the existing Susquehanna nuclear station in Pennsylvania, while Amazon-backed Xe-100 SMR projects remain in development, financing and regulatory pre-application stages. Nuclear can provide potentially firm, low-carbon electricity, but it does not by itself guarantee data-center uptime.
What Amazon has actually committed to
Amazon’s nuclear strategy has three distinct parts: operating power from an existing large reactor, planned SMRs, and exploratory agreements for additional sites. Treating all three as “SMRs powering AWS” overstates the current position.
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| Project or arrangement | What it is | Current status |
|---|---|---|
| Susquehanna, Pennsylvania | AWS data-center campus adjacent to Talen Energy’s conventional nuclear station | Existing nuclear supply arrangement; not an SMR |
| Cascade Advanced Energy Facility, Washington | Planned X-energy Xe-100 reactors developed with Energy Northwest | NRC pre-application activity for a future construction-permit application |
| Talen Pennsylvania SMRs | Exploration of new reactors and a possible Susquehanna uprate | Development discussion, not construction |
| Dominion North Anna, Virginia | Exploration of SMR development near the existing plant | Exploratory agreement, not a licensed project |
Amazon says its broader carbon-free-energy portfolio also includes wind, solar, storage, grid purchases and other approaches. Nuclear is one component, not AWS’s sole electricity source (Amazon carbon-free energy overview).
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In March 2024, AWS signed an agreement for up to 960 MW from Talen Energy’s Susquehanna plant for an adjacent data-center campus, according to an Energy Information Administration background document (EIA document). Amazon also acquired the Pennsylvania campus and land from Talen and describes the site as directly powered by the neighboring station (Amazon; Talen filing).
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The arrangement became a major grid-policy case. A 2024 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission report discussed concerns about increasing power sent directly from a generator to a co-located data center and the effects on other grid users (FERC’s co-location report). FERC rejected a proposed increase in the amount of Susquehanna output that could be directed to the campus under the original interconnection structure.
On June 11, 2025, Talen and Amazon announced an amended relationship. Talen’s filing describes up to 1,920 MW at the full contractual quantity, delivery to AWS operations in the region and potentially other Pennsylvania sites, and a structure shifting toward a grid-connected, front-of-the-meter model (Talen announcement; Talen 8-K). The filing says the amended arrangement did not require a new FERC approval.
The 1,920-MW figure is the full contract quantity—not proof that AWS is currently using or receiving 1,920 MW of energized data-center load. The public sources do not establish the campus’s present IT load, the exact electricity price or how much of the contracted quantity is presently deliverable.
What the planned Xe-100 SMR is
X-energy’s Xe-100 is a pebble-bed, high-temperature gas-cooled reactor. The NRC describes each unit as approximately 80 megawatts electric (MWe); a standard four-reactor plant would produce approximately 320 MWe (NRC Xe-100 page).
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Modularity is intended to allow standardized units and repeat factory production rather than a single giant reactor build. That is a proposed construction and scaling advantage, not a guarantee of low cost. Economics depend on repeat orders, factory utilization, financing rates, construction productivity, fuel supply, licensing, local infrastructure and actual capacity utilization.
Advanced reactors also require specialized fuel manufacturing to scale. A new design has no long United States commercial operating history from which to claim fleet-level reliability. Design objectives should therefore be distinguished from demonstrated operating performance.
Cascade is Amazon’s principal SMR project
The Cascade Advanced Energy Facility is planned for the Hanford Reservation in Benton County, Washington, adjacent to Energy Northwest’s Columbia Generating Station. Energy Northwest and X-energy are developing the project with Amazon’s support.
Proposed size and output
- Four initial Xe-100 units are commonly discussed, totaling approximately 320 MWe.
- The NRC page refers to a future construction-permit application for up to 12 units, which would be a larger potential buildout (NRC Cascade status).
- Amazon and Energy Northwest have discussed serving Pacific Northwest demand in the early 2030s, but that is a target subject to licensing, financing, construction, fuel availability and execution.
Regulatory position
The NRC lists Cascade as pre-application activity associated with a future construction-permit application. That is not a construction permit, operating license or commercial operation. A Department of Energy environmental screening document is available for the Washington project (DOE document).
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On October 16, 2024, Amazon anchored an approximately $500 million X-energy financing round and announced an agreement involving Energy Northwest. The companies also described an ambition for more than 5 GW of advanced nuclear capacity by 2039 (X-energy announcement; Amazon announcement). That is an announced target, not 5 GW licensed, financed, under construction or operating.
Are Amazon’s SMRs operating?
No verified evidence in the official sources reviewed through August 16, 2026 shows an Amazon-backed Xe-100 reactor operating commercially or supplying an AWS data center. The NRC continues to list Xe-100 in pre-application activities, while its separate Long Mott page concerns a construction-permit application for a demonstration project in Texas—not Amazon’s Washington project (NRC Long Mott page).
This status ladder prevents common errors:
- Operating today: Susquehanna is an existing conventional nuclear station supplying an adjacent AWS campus arrangement.
- Contracted: The Talen-Amazon relationship includes a full contractual quantity of up to 1,920 MW under the amended structure.
- Announced development: Cascade, Talen’s Pennsylvania SMR exploration and Dominion’s North Anna discussions.
- Regulatory pre-application: Cascade and the Xe-100 design.
- Construction-permit application: The separate Long Mott project in Texas.
- Licensed, under construction or commercially operating: No Amazon-backed Xe-100 project is established in the reviewed sources at these stages.
Why AWS is pursuing nuclear power
AI clusters increase both the total electricity demand and the power density of cloud campuses. AWS needs large blocks of electricity near computing facilities, often in regions where transmission capacity and interconnection queues are constrained.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesExisting nuclear plants can offer continuous generation without direct operational carbon emissions and may provide power sooner than building an entirely new reactor. SMRs are intended to create a repeatable source of new generation closer to large industrial loads. Amazon’s public strategy still combines nuclear with renewables, storage, grid supply and other carbon-free-energy measures.
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What “reliable” means for an AWS data center
Generation reliability
Nuclear units can produce steady electricity around the clock and are not dependent on immediate sunlight or wind. That makes nuclear potentially firm power, not guaranteed uninterrupted power.
Data-center availability
Uptime depends on the complete electrical and mechanical design: redundant grid feeds, switchgear, uninterruptible power supplies, backup generators, cooling redundancy, controls and maintenance procedures. A power-purchase agreement alone does not guarantee uninterrupted IT service.
Outages and contingencies
Existing nuclear plants require refueling outages, maintenance, security and regulatory work. AWS must plan for loss of the preferred supply path, transmission constraints and plant outages. Co-location can reduce transmission dependence, but it does not necessarily make a campus electrically independent or “off-grid.”
Grid reliability and fairness
Directly connecting a very large load to a generator can alter flows, reserve requirements, market outcomes and access for other customers. The FERC co-location report illustrates why these arrangements receive scrutiny.
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Other Amazon nuclear projects are exploratory
Talen’s Pennsylvania plans
The June 2025 agreement says Talen and Amazon will explore new SMRs within Talen’s Pennsylvania footprint and consider uprating the existing Susquehanna plant (Talen announcement). It does not establish a licensed or financed Amazon SMR under construction.
Dominion’s North Anna discussions
Amazon and Dominion Energy signed an agreement to explore SMR development near Dominion’s North Anna station in Virginia. Amazon describes a concept potentially supporting at least 300 MW, but an exploration agreement is not a construction commitment (Amazon nuclear strategy).
Economics, alternatives and risks
| Option | Potential advantage | Main uncertainty |
|---|---|---|
| Existing nuclear PPA | Firm generation without building a new reactor | Limited geography, contract terms and co-location disputes |
| Uprate or life extension | More output from established infrastructure | Regulatory, engineering and outage requirements |
| New SMRs | Modular additions near large loads | First-of-a-kind cost, licensing, fuel and schedule risk |
| Renewables plus storage | Mature procurement in many regions and low operating emissions | Firming, land, transmission and long-duration storage needs |
| Natural-gas generation | Dispatchable and commercially established | Fuel-price exposure and carbon emissions |
| Hydropower or geothermal | Potentially firm, low-carbon generation | Geographic limits and site availability |
Nuclear generation has no direct operational carbon emissions at the plant, but that is not the same as a zero-lifecycle-emissions claim. Construction, mining, enrichment, fuel fabrication, maintenance, transmission and decommissioning all contribute to lifecycle impacts. Amazon’s carbon-free-energy statements should be read as the company’s accounting and strategy claims, not as a universal lifecycle conclusion.
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The economics of an existing plant with sunk capital can differ sharply from a first-of-a-kind SMR. Claims that SMRs will automatically be cheap are unsupported unless repeat builds achieve standardized designs, high factory utilization and lower financing and construction costs.
What remains unknown
- Current AWS IT load at the Pennsylvania campus.
- The exact price AWS pays for nuclear electricity.
- Whether the full 1,920-MW contractual quantity is currently energized or deliverable.
- A final Cascade construction start date, NRC construction permit or operating license.
- A binding final investment decision for all planned Xe-100 units.
- The final all-in cost per megawatt of Amazon-backed SMRs.
- The share of future AWS electricity expected to come from nuclear.
- The date when an Amazon-backed SMR will first enter commercial operation.
Bottom line
Amazon is genuinely building a nuclear-backed strategy for cloud and AI infrastructure, but the most concrete part is existing nuclear power in Pennsylvania. AWS’s Susquehanna arrangement uses a conventional reactor; Amazon-backed Xe-100 SMRs are still moving through development and regulatory steps. Whether the strategy succeeds will depend on licensing, construction performance, advanced-fuel supply, financing, grid treatment, cost control and the ability to repeat projects—not on the announcement of a target alone.
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