Amazon spills plan to nuke Washington…with X-Energy mini-reactors

Steven

Amazon spills plan to nuke Washington…with X-Energy mini-reactors

Summary

Amazon and X-Energy have outlined plans to deploy up to 960 megawatts of Xe-100 small modular reactors (SMRs) at a proposed Cascade Nuclear Energy Center near Richland, Washington. The project would use 80MW SMR units deployed in three phases of 320MW each. Construction is not expected to begin until the end of the decade, with commercial operations targeted in the 2030s. Amazon previously invested $500m in X-Energy and aims to deploy 5GW of X-Energy SMRs by 2039, working with South Korea’s Doosan Enerbility and Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power to support roll-out.

The plan faces major caveats: X-Energy’s design still requires Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval before reactor construction can begin, SMR economics and operational performance remain unproven at scale, and the timeline depends on regulatory green lights. Other hyperscalers are pursuing nuclear options too — Oracle, Google-backed Kairos Power and Microsoft have their own nuclear plans or investments to power datacentres.

Key Points

  • Amazon and X-Energy propose up to 960MW of Xe-100 SMRs at the Cascade Nuclear Energy Center outside Richland, WA.
  • The project would use 80MW reactors installed in three 320MW phases; full roll-out spans into the 2030s.
  • Amazon invested $500m in X-Energy and intends to deploy 5GW of X-Energy SMRs by 2039 across its operations.
  • X-Energy’s design still needs Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval before any reactor construction can start.
  • SMRs promise smaller, faster, and cheaper deployments than large reactors, but the technology and costs are not yet proven at scale.
  • Amazon is partnering with Doosan Enerbility and Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power; other cloud providers (Oracle, Google/Kairos, Microsoft) are also exploring nuclear options.

Why should I read this?

Because if you care about where the cloud gets its monstrous power — and how hyperscalers keep AI and datacentres running — this is a big deal. Amazon going public with concrete SMR plans signals a serious shift toward on-site nuclear capacity for cloud power, and that has implications for energy markets, regulation and datacentre strategy. It’s worth knowing the timelines, the regulatory snag, and who else is in the race.

Author style

Punchy: This isn’t fluff — it’s a strategic energy play from a company that already buys and builds big infrastructure. Read the detail if you want to understand where hyperscaler power deals are heading, and why regulators and local communities will matter as much as the technology.

Source

Source: https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2025/10/17/amazon_nuke_washington/