Amazon Web Services is investing over $500 million in nuclear energy projects, announcing three initiatives spanning from Virginia to Washington State.

AWS, Amazon's cloud computing arm, increasingly needs clean energy to support the expansion of its services, particularly in the field of generative artificial intelligence.

This step is part of Amazon's efforts to achieve net-zero carbon emissions.

In this context, Amazon Web Services announced the signing of an agreement with Dominion Energy, a public utility company in Virginia, to explore the possibility of developing a small modular reactor (SMR) near Dominion's existing North Anna Nuclear Power Station.

Nuclear reactors are characterized by their lack of carbon emissions.

Additionally, Amazon has signed a new agreement with Energy Northwest, which represents a coalition of public utility companies in Washington State, to fund the development, licensing, and construction of four small modular reactors.

Small modular reactors are an advanced type of reactor characterized by their small size, allowing them to be built closer to the electrical grid.

They also have faster construction times compared to traditional reactors, enabling them to enter service sooner.

In this way, Amazon emerges as the latest major technology company to turn to nuclear energy to meet the increasing energy demand from data centers. For more details, please refer to the link in the bio.