On Amazon, Google and Nuclear Reactors

Last week, Amazon said “we’ve signed three new agreements to support the development of nuclear energy projects—including enabling the construction of several new Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).

• "SMRs are an advanced kind of nuclear reactor with a smaller physical footprint, allowing them to be built closer to the grid. They also have faster build times than traditional reactors, allowing them to come online sooner."

• Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services said, “Nuclear is a safe source of carbon-free energy that can help power our operations and meet the growing demands of our customers …

• "One of the fastest ways to address climate change is by transitioning our society to carbon-free energy sources, and nuclear energy is both carbon-free and able to scale ...”

• Separately, Google said it signed "the world’s first corporate agreement to purchase nuclear energy from multiple small modular reactors (SMRs) to be developed by Kairos Power.

• “The grid needs new electricity sources to support AI technologies that are powering major scientific advances, improving services for businesses and customers, and driving national competitiveness and economic growth. 

• “Nuclear solutions offer a clean, round-the-clock power source that can help us reliably meet electricity demands with carbon-free energy every hour of every day."

OUR TAKE

• Small Modular Reactor (SMRs) deployments have the potential to lower initial costs and be more scalable than traditional nuclear approaches, but their long-term operating costs need to be determined.

• SMRs promise to reduce carbon emissions and require a smaller physical footprints (compared to traditional power plants), but concerns about nuclear waste persist.

• Given that SMRs will have a distributed power generation model, managing their safety and security may be more complex than traditional energy sources.