Amazon spills plan to nuke Washington...with X-Energy mini-reactors
(2025/10/17)
- Reference: 1760727499
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/10/17/amazon_nuke_washington/
- Source link:
Despite technological and regulatory hurdles, Amazon remains convinced that small modular reactors (SMRs) are the answer to the cloud titan's power woes.
Last fall, the house of Bezos [1]announced a $500 million investment in SMR startup X-Energy. On Thursday, the e-tailer [2]revealed that X-Energy's Xe-100 SMR designs would eventually supply Washington State with "up to" 960 megawatts of clean energy.
"Eventually" is the key word here as construction isn't expected to start until the end of the decade and the plants won't begin operations until sometime in the 2030s.
[3]
The plan is to deploy the 80 megawatt reactors at a new facility called the Cascade Nuclear Energy Center outside Richland, Washington, in three phases, each totaling 320 megawatts of generative output. For context, xAI's 200,000-GPU Colossus supercomputer uses roughly 300 megawatts of power when it is fully utilized.
[4]
[5]
Amazon notes that X-Energy's SMRs should be smaller, faster to deploy, and cheaper to operate than conventional pressurized water reactors. This is a common argument in support of the miniaturized nuclear power plants, but it's worth noting that the tech hasn't actually been proven out. In fact, higher-than-expected operating costs have already doomed one early SMR project.
And that's not the only challenge facing X-Energy. The company's SMR tech has yet to receive Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval, which is required before construction of the reactor itself can begin. But that's not stopping Amazon from sharing 3D renders of what the power plant might look like when complete.
[6]
Here's a 3D rendering of what the Cascade Nuclear Energy Center in Richland, Washington might look like if completed. - Click to enlarge
Despite these barriers, Amazon remains confident in the technology and plans to deploy 5 gigawatts worth of X-Energy SMRs by 2039. The two companies have even enlisted the help of South Korea's Doosan Enerbility and Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power to help them support the deployment of SMRs across the US.
A spokesperson for the company told The Register . "We expect to receive regulatory approval to begin construction by end of 2026."
[7]
Amazon isn't the only one going all-in on atomic power to fuel its datacenter aspirations. Oracle [8]plans to field at least three SMRs to power a gigawatt scale nuclear reactor, though specific details remain thin.
Google-backed Kairos Power, meanwhile, plans to [9]deploy a 50MW molten salt reactor outside Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Much like X-Energy Kairos Hermes 2 demonstrator isn't expected to come online until after 2030. However, with NRC approval already in hand, Kairos stands a better chance of delivering a working reactor on time.
[10]
With that said, the company will still need the green light before it can actually power up the reactor for the first time.
[11]Britain's AI gold rush hits a wall – not enough electricity
[12]Decomposed dinosaurs make Texas a top destination for AI bit barns
[13]US hyperscalers to guzzle 22% more grid juice by end of 2025
[14]Britain's biggest nuclear site looks set to outlast SAP support again
In the meantime, cloud providers like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft are turning to more conventional sources of nuclear energy to meet their energy demands without completely abandoning their sustainability goals.
Early last year, Amazon [15]acquired Cumulus Data's atomic datacenters in a deal valued at $650 million. The facilities, located alongside the 2.5 gigawatt Susquehanna nuclear power plant in northeast Pennsylvania could eventually scale to 960 megawatts under the deal.
Microsoft, meanwhile, is helping to finance the [16]re-ignition of the Three Mile Island Unit-1 reactor. And in case you're wondering, this isn't the same reactor that partially melted down back in 1979. The reactor is now expected to begin operations again starting in 2027. ®
Get our [17]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/16/amazon_nuclear_smr/
[2] https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/sustainability/amazon-smr-nuclear-energy
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aPK8dOVxZgoiFOedF3yXGwAAAIQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[6] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/10/17/amazon_nuke_gen.jpg
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aPK8dOVxZgoiFOedF3yXGwAAAIQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/11/oracle_1gw_datacenter_smr_plan/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/18/google_smr_datacenters/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aPK8dOVxZgoiFOedF3yXGwAAAIQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/17/in_britain_talk_is_cheap/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/16/texas_ai_bitbarns/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/16/us_datacenters_ai_power/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/13/sellafield_sap_support/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/04/amazon_acquires_cumulus_nuclear_datacenter/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/20/three_mile_island_nuclear_plant_microsoft_ai/
[17] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Last fall, the house of Bezos [1]announced a $500 million investment in SMR startup X-Energy. On Thursday, the e-tailer [2]revealed that X-Energy's Xe-100 SMR designs would eventually supply Washington State with "up to" 960 megawatts of clean energy.
"Eventually" is the key word here as construction isn't expected to start until the end of the decade and the plants won't begin operations until sometime in the 2030s.
[3]
The plan is to deploy the 80 megawatt reactors at a new facility called the Cascade Nuclear Energy Center outside Richland, Washington, in three phases, each totaling 320 megawatts of generative output. For context, xAI's 200,000-GPU Colossus supercomputer uses roughly 300 megawatts of power when it is fully utilized.
[4]
[5]
Amazon notes that X-Energy's SMRs should be smaller, faster to deploy, and cheaper to operate than conventional pressurized water reactors. This is a common argument in support of the miniaturized nuclear power plants, but it's worth noting that the tech hasn't actually been proven out. In fact, higher-than-expected operating costs have already doomed one early SMR project.
And that's not the only challenge facing X-Energy. The company's SMR tech has yet to receive Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval, which is required before construction of the reactor itself can begin. But that's not stopping Amazon from sharing 3D renders of what the power plant might look like when complete.
[6]
Here's a 3D rendering of what the Cascade Nuclear Energy Center in Richland, Washington might look like if completed. - Click to enlarge
Despite these barriers, Amazon remains confident in the technology and plans to deploy 5 gigawatts worth of X-Energy SMRs by 2039. The two companies have even enlisted the help of South Korea's Doosan Enerbility and Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power to help them support the deployment of SMRs across the US.
A spokesperson for the company told The Register . "We expect to receive regulatory approval to begin construction by end of 2026."
[7]
Amazon isn't the only one going all-in on atomic power to fuel its datacenter aspirations. Oracle [8]plans to field at least three SMRs to power a gigawatt scale nuclear reactor, though specific details remain thin.
Google-backed Kairos Power, meanwhile, plans to [9]deploy a 50MW molten salt reactor outside Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Much like X-Energy Kairos Hermes 2 demonstrator isn't expected to come online until after 2030. However, with NRC approval already in hand, Kairos stands a better chance of delivering a working reactor on time.
[10]
With that said, the company will still need the green light before it can actually power up the reactor for the first time.
[11]Britain's AI gold rush hits a wall – not enough electricity
[12]Decomposed dinosaurs make Texas a top destination for AI bit barns
[13]US hyperscalers to guzzle 22% more grid juice by end of 2025
[14]Britain's biggest nuclear site looks set to outlast SAP support again
In the meantime, cloud providers like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft are turning to more conventional sources of nuclear energy to meet their energy demands without completely abandoning their sustainability goals.
Early last year, Amazon [15]acquired Cumulus Data's atomic datacenters in a deal valued at $650 million. The facilities, located alongside the 2.5 gigawatt Susquehanna nuclear power plant in northeast Pennsylvania could eventually scale to 960 megawatts under the deal.
Microsoft, meanwhile, is helping to finance the [16]re-ignition of the Three Mile Island Unit-1 reactor. And in case you're wondering, this isn't the same reactor that partially melted down back in 1979. The reactor is now expected to begin operations again starting in 2027. ®
Get our [17]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/16/amazon_nuclear_smr/
[2] https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/sustainability/amazon-smr-nuclear-energy
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aPK8dOVxZgoiFOedF3yXGwAAAIQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aPK8dOVxZgoiFOedF3yXGwAAAIQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aPK8dOVxZgoiFOedF3yXGwAAAIQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/10/17/amazon_nuke_gen.jpg
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aPK8dOVxZgoiFOedF3yXGwAAAIQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/11/oracle_1gw_datacenter_smr_plan/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/18/google_smr_datacenters/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aPK8dOVxZgoiFOedF3yXGwAAAIQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/17/in_britain_talk_is_cheap/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/16/texas_ai_bitbarns/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/16/us_datacenters_ai_power/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/13/sellafield_sap_support/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/04/amazon_acquires_cumulus_nuclear_datacenter/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/20/three_mile_island_nuclear_plant_microsoft_ai/
[17] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: More Micro than Small
Paul Herber
Can we not take coal and treat with oil in some way to make it emit nucular energy? Maybe bleach it so it looks white? Will that work?
More Micro than Small
These 50 to 80 MW reactors are more MMR (Micro Modular Reactors) than SMRs. SMRs that are actually finding customers and getting built are simply scaled down and simplified versions of normal commercial reactors and use standard commercial nuclear fuel.
X-Energy, is a gas cooled pebble bed reactor (the fuel is in small spheres in a big bin) and the fuel is enriched to 20%. This compares to 3% to 5% for normal commercial enriched fuel, or 0.7% for natural uranium reactors (which are efficient enough that they don't need enrichment).
Kairos Power uses similar fuel to X-Energy, but is cooled with molten salt rather than helium gas.
These MMRs using exotic fuel suffer the problem that they don't have a secure source of fuel, and so far the US are scrabbling under the seat cushions looking for surplus bomb grade material they can dilute down to just under 20% to supply some fuel for experimental reactors. When it is eventually available, it is not likely to be cheap.
So far the US are at the stage of awarding contracts to companies to build enrichment facilities to make this fuel, but there is no domestic supply and these companies have been counting in importing some from Russia.
This special fuel is simply not available on a scale which can supply anything other than demonstration projects.
On top of all this, these MMRs have questionable economics except for things like replacing diesels for powering remote mines and communities.
On the other hand, SMRs in the 300MW range (or nearly 500 MW in the case of RR) use standard commercial fuel which they can buy from existing suppliers.
I find it difficult to be believe that Amazon is serious about this, except as a form of green washing.