Amazon to Help Build Small Modular Nuclear Reactor Campus in Washington to Power AI and Cloud Services

Amazon has announced plans to develop the Cascade Advanced Energy Facility in Richland, Washington, working with Energy Northwest and X-energy to build small modular reactors (SMRs) to meet the company’s large energy needs for AI and cloud computing. Construction is expected to begin before the end of the decade, with operations targeted in the 2030s.

SMRs are smaller, modular nuclear reactors designed to be built in units and scaled up. Amazon will support four SMRs in the project’s first phase, providing an initial 320 megawatts (MW) of capacity, and the site may expand to 12 units for substantially greater output. Partners include Energy Northwest (Washington state’s utilities agency) and SMR developer X-energy.

• Location: Richland, Washington
• Initial phase: 4 SMRs — 320 MW total
• Potential expansion: up to 12 units (larger total output; some reports cite up to 960 MW)
• Timeline: construction planned before 2030; operations expected in the 2030s

This move follows similar efforts from other major tech companies: Google teamed up with Kairos Power in 2024 to pursue several SMRs across the U.S., and Meta has explored nuclear-powered data center options. For tech giants, nuclear energy — particularly SMRs — is attractive because it can provide stable, low-carbon baseload power to support energy-intensive AI workloads.

SMR designs promise a smaller footprint and modular construction that can shorten build times and reduce on-site complexity compared with traditional reactors. However, they still face regulatory review, permitting, and community engagement challenges, along with environmental assessments that can delay projects.

For further reading:

Engadget coverage of Amazon’s SMR plans

X-energy (SMR developer) | Energy Northwest

Discussion: Do you think nuclear SMRs are a realistic and responsible way for tech companies to power large-scale AI operations? Share your thoughts below.