Amazon shares a 'first look' at new nuclear facility

"Amazon shared some new details about its plans to help deploy more nuclear energy across Washington State, where the company is headquartered. About a year ago, Amazon announced an agreement with Energy Northwest, a consortium of public utilities in Washington, to support the development of up to 12 advanced reactors by the early 2030s. Once complete, Amazon would have the right to purchase electricity from the first 320-megawatt phase of the project. The additional capacity would be open to Amazon and local utilities to use."

"What's different about these reactors is that they're small and modular, which is supposed to make them cheaper and easier to deploy than America's existing fleet of nuclear power plants. Amazon shared several rendered images today of what the first plant might look like outside of Richland, Washington. Called the Cascade Advanced Energy Facility, it'll include three sections with a combined capacity of 960 megawatts, about enough electricity to power 770,000 homes in the US."

"While an old-school reactor with about the same capacity might spread across more than a square mile of land, according to Amazon, Cascade is expected to take up just a few city blocks. Amazon's blog post today says that the Cascade facility should create about 100 permanent jobs, as well as more than 1,000 construction jobs. Considering these next-generation reactors are still under development and have to go through a licensing process, construction isn't expected to start until the end of the decade."

Amazon is partnering with Energy Northwest to support development of up to 12 advanced small modular reactors by the early 2030s. Amazon will have the right to purchase electricity from the first 320-megawatt phase, with remaining capacity available to Amazon and local utilities. The Cascade Advanced Energy Facility near Richland will consist of three sections totaling 960 megawatts, enough for about 770,000 homes, and is designed to occupy only a few city blocks. The project is expected to create roughly 100 permanent jobs and over 1,000 construction jobs, with construction likely starting at the end of the decade after licensing.

Read at The Verge