Amazon is financing the construction of 4 nuclear reactors on the Columbia River

RICHLAND, Wash. (KPTV) – With growing demand for artificial intelligence from big tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Google, energy resources in the U.S. are now more strained than ever

As a result, Amazon announced on Monday that it has struck a deal with Energy Northwest and X-Energy to finance the construction of four new nuclear reactors on the Columbia River in Washington.

“As a member of the Washington business community, Amazon is committed to investing in new nuclear energy technologies that can help our operations and provide clean, safe new sources of carbon-free energy for the grid,” said Kevin Miller, Amazon’s vice president. global data centers. “We are proud to work with Energy Northwest, a utility that is also serious about meeting society’s growing energy needs while addressing climate change. This new SMR project is a significant step towards the Amazon Climate Pledge to achieve a net zero carbon footprint across all of our operations by 2040, and represents our ongoing commitment to becoming a more sustainable company.”

In a press release, these new reactors were described as “new generation” and “small modular reactors”.

The reactors are planned to be installed in Richland, Washington, near Hanford, the most polluted nuclear site in the United States.

Washington State just approved a record $3 billion to spend on cleaning up the Hanford grounds this year.