Amazon plans to power Eastern Oregon data centers with nuclear reactors

By Antonio Sierra (OPB)
Oct. 23, 2024 6:35 p.m.

The Energy Northwest Morrison Energy Center in Richland, Wash.
Courtesy of Amazon / Courtesy photo

In its quest to continue powering Eastern Oregon data centers, Amazon is going nuclear.

The e-commerce giant announced last week that it is partnering with several energy companies to develop small modular nuclear reactors, or SMRs. That includes an agreement with a consortium of Washington state utilities to develop and build reactors in southeast Washington that would help power data centers across the Columbia River in Umatilla and Morrow counties.

The move helps Amazon work around Oregon’s long-standing ban on new nuclear reactors and feed its energy-intensive data business. But it could also reignite debates over nuclear energy’s role in decarbonizing the energy grid.

In a press release, Amazon stated that SMRs would help the company meet its ultimate goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2040. The company anticipates its agreement will produce four reactors that will eventually produce enough energy to power the equivalent of 770,000 homes, nearly twice the amount of homes in Umatilla and Morrow counties and the Tri-Cities region of Washington combined.

“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 — which is why it’s an important area of investment for Amazon,” Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman said in a statement. “Our agreements will encourage the construction of new nuclear technologies that will generate energy for decades to come.”

Energy Northwest, the group Amazon is partnering with, said in its own statement that Amazon will pay for the four reactors. Amazon will hold electricity purchasing rights to the reactors, with the possibility of building eight additional SMRs for Amazon’s benefit and for “northwest utilities to power homes and businesses.”

For more than a decade, Amazon has built and operated data centers in northern Morrow and western Umatilla counties to sustain its cloud computing business, Amazon Web Services. Aided by generous tax breaks, plentiful amounts of land and access to cheap hydroelectric power, Amazon initially operated its data centers quietly. In recent years, the company has taken steps to ingratiate itself in the community by funding educational labs in places like Boardman, the city of Umatilla and the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

But as Amazon and other companies shift their attention to artificial intelligence, the energy demands of data centers continue to rise. The International Energy Agency anticipates that global data center energy consumption will double from 2022 to 2026, driven in part by AI. The Oregonian reported that data center energy consumption could put pressure on utilities to raise their rates, a trend that could affect all customers.

Advocates for SMRs say the technology can provide plenty of carbon-free power without the safety concerns that larger nuclear reactors bring. But nuclear power has had a tough time getting a foothold in Oregon. State voters effectively banned the construction of reactors in 1980 until the federal government developed a nuclear waste site. Legislative attempts to lift the ban have failed and a Portland company’s effort to build SMRs in Idaho fell apart.

Amazon officials aren’t the only people interested in SMRs. The Umatilla County Board of Commissioners recently hired a law firm to draft legislation that would allow for an SMR pilot project in the county.

Although the SMR backers promise a safer path to nuclear energy, some people in the state remain opposed to it.

Cathy Sampson-Kruse is a member of the Walla Walla Tribe, one of the three tribes of the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation, which is based in Umatilla County. She’s also the associate producer of “Atomic Bamboozle,” a 2023 anti-nuclear energy documentary.

In an interview before Amazon’s announcement, Sampson-Kruse pointed to the Hanford Site in southeast Washington, the most nuclear waste polluted area in the Western Hemisphere and land that traditionally belongs to the Walla Walla people. She said some tribal members still go into the area to hunt and gather. Energy Northwest’s proposed SMR site is only about 20 miles southeast of Hanford.

“I’m not here to judge those folks, but you will never see me bring my children or grandchildren,” she said. “I would never deem it safe to do that.”

Sampson-Kruse has no love for SMRs and was dismayed to learn that Umatilla County was trying to introduce them locally.

Sampson-Kruse said she’s reaching out to officials in the tribal government to convince them to oppose SMRs.