As data centers consume increasing amounts of power, the question arises: Where will all that energy come from? Amazon has announced that it plans to build one of the United States’ first small modular reactor (SMR) facilities, to power its sprawling internet infrastructure.
The Cascade Advanced Energy Facility, to be located near Richland, Washington, will be developed in partnership with Energy Northwest and X-energy. The project will feature up to 12 modular reactors based on X-energy’s Xe-100 design, each producing 80 MW of power. The first phase will include four units with a combined capacity of 320 MW, expandable to 960 MW—enough to supply nearly one million homes (or several huge data centers).
Amazon says that the facility will occupy an area of just a few city blocks.
