- Italy extends surrogacy ban to couples seeking it abroad
- Panama Canal crossings down 29 percent due to drought
- 'Clear indications' India violated Canada's sovereignty: Trudeau
- World champion Springboks to host Italy in 2025, Moerat to miss November tour
- Trump claims to be 'father of IVF' at all-female campaign stop
- WHO demands space to finish Gaza polio vaccination
- Mitchell left out of England squad for Autumn internationals
- Real Madrid back Mbappe amid Swedish rape investigation reports
- Middle East crisis top-of-mind at first EU-Gulf summit
- Israeli minister criticises Macron over France defence show ban
- Global stock markets diverge as markets focus on earmings
- Who said what on Tuchel's appointment as England manager
- Amazon bets on nuclear power to fuel AI ambitions
- Zelensky plan will be 'on table' at NATO talks this week: Rutte
- Harris steps into lion's den with Fox interview
- Macron riles Netanyahu with jab on Israel's creation
- Britain bounce back in America's Cup as New Zealand suffer
- Turkey shuts down radio station in Armenia genocide row
- Global stock markets diverge as tech fears linger
- Tuchel targets trophies as England manager
- War piles pressure on roads, services in crisis-hit Beirut
- Israeli booths, equipment barred from defence show in France
- Tuchel hopes to deliver 'missing trophies' to England
- England 239-6 in second Test after Sajid strikes for Pakistan
- Britain off the mark in America's Cup as New Zealand suffer
- Lufthansa fined 'record' $4 mn for barring Jewish passengers
- First migrants arrive in Albania under contested Italy deal
- Zelensky rules out ceding Ukrainian land in Victory Plan, urges NATO invite
- Global stock markets fall as tech fears weigh
- Musk's X escapes tough EU competition rules
- Thomas Tuchel: Abrasive but effective
- Root could break 16,000-run barrier, says England great Cook
- Indian airplane forced to divert after latest bomb hoax
- Tuchel 'has to' win World Cup for England, says Shearer
- Duckett half-century as England make brisk reply to Pakistan's 366
- Israel strikes Hezbollah strongholds after rejecting Lebanon ceasefire
- India issues flood warnings as rain pounds south
- Saudi crown prince in Brussels for first EU-Gulf summit
- Thomas Tuchel appointed England manager: Football Association
- 'Age of Electricity' coming as fossil fuels set to peak: IEA
- Markets struggle after Wall Street losses as tech fears weigh
- Myanmar and China have lowest internet freedom, says study
- UK inflation hits three-year low, fuelling rate-cut hopes
- Pakistan tail frustrates England to reach 358-8 at lunch
- Discovery of Shackleton's lost shipwreck brought to big screen
- Markets mixed after Wall Street losses as tech fears weigh
- World heading into 'the Age of Electricity': IEA
- Spiralling Sudan bloodshed sparks refugee surge into Chad
- Lee wary of Ko challenge at BMW Ladies in South Korea
- Kenya Senate begins debate on deputy president impeachment
Amazon bets on nuclear power to fuel AI ambitions
Amazon announced significant investments in nuclear energy on Wednesday, joining other tech giants in aiming to meet the high electric power demands of cloud computing and artificial intelligence using atomic energy.
As companies including Microsoft, Amazon, and Google rapidly expand their global data center capabilities, they are actively seeking new electricity sources.
Amazon has signed three agreements to support the development of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), which are more compact and potentially easier to deploy than traditional reactors.
The technology is still in its infancy and lacks regulatory approval, however, raising doubts about implementation timelines.
"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," said Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services.
Amazon's new partnerships include collaborating with Energy Northwest to develop four advanced SMRs in Washington state, potentially generating up to 960 megawatts of power by the early 2030s.
The company is also investing $500 million in X-energy, a leading SMR developer, to support more than five gigawatts of new nuclear-energy projects.
Additionally, Amazon is teaming up with Dominion Energy to explore an SMR project near Virginia's North Anna nuclear power station, aiming to add at least 300 MW of power to meet projected demand increases.
Northern Virginia, a global internet crossroads, is experiencing unprecedented growth in electricity demand due to data center expansion. Dominion Energy has indicated that new natural gas plants may be needed despite commitments to decarbonize the state's power grid by 2045.
But the need for fossil-fuel-fired generation to power data center growth is at odds with the environmental ambitions of major tech companies, which are championing their ability to deliver AI's power without tarnishing their green credentials.
Google recently signed a deal with Kairos Power for SMR-generated electricity, while Microsoft plans to use power from the restarted Three Mile Island facility.
Amazon has also announced plans to locate a major data center next to a 40-year-old nuclear facility in Pennsylvania.
According to Goldman Sachs, data center power demand is estimated to grow 160 percent by 2030, with AI representing about 19 percent of data center power demand by 2028.
Y.Nakamura--AMWN