The usual way a corporation buys clean power is to sign a contract for the output of a plant someone else has financed. Amazon and Google are now doing something different with nuclear: paying for the studies, permits and site work that come before anyone knows whether a reactor will be built.
Two announcements this year show how that works. On October 23, Energy Northwest said it was negotiating with a construction joint venture to plan, design and build the first phase of the Cascade Advanced Energy Facility, the Amazon-backed small modular reactor project in Washington state. In May, Google agreed to provide early-stage capital for Elementl Power to prepare three U.S. sites for advanced nuclear projects.
Cascade: from analysis to a builder
Cascade will sit next to Energy Northwest's Columbia Generating Station near Richland. It uses X-energy's Xe-100, a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor that provides 80 MW per module. The first phase of four modules would produce up to 320 MW, and the site could reach up to 960 MW with 12 modules, the public power agency said.
Energy Northwest is in negotiations with Cascade Nuclear Partners, an equal joint venture of Kiewit Nuclear Solutions, Black & Veatch and Aecon, to complete the planning, design and construction of the first four modules. "Selecting Cascade Nuclear Partners is a strategic milestone for this project," said Energy Northwest chief executive Bob Schuetz.
Amazon's role began in October 2024, when Energy Northwest announced a multi-year agreement with the company focused on environmental, safety, permitting, licensing and risk analyses. When that work is complete, Energy Northwest expects to submit a construction permit application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Construction is expected to begin by the end of the decade, with operations targeted for the 2030s. The NRC lists Cascade among the advanced reactor projects in pre-application talks with the agency, a stage in which developers and regulators work through technical questions before a formal application is submitted for review.
A week earlier, on October 16, the agency unveiled the project's name and concept images. It said the facility is expected to create more than 1,000 temporary construction jobs and more than 100 permanent positions. Its schedule is expected to follow the first deployment of the same reactor at Dow's Long Mott Generating Station in Seadrift, Texas, which is part of the Department of Energy's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program.
"This project isn't just about new technology; it's about creating a reliable source of carbon-free energy that will support our growing digital world," said Kara Hurst, Amazon's chief sustainability officer.
Elementl: paying for sites, not reactors
Google's deal with Elementl Power goes even earlier in the chain. Under the May 7 agreement, Google provides early-stage capital for Elementl to prepare three potential U.S. sites for advanced nuclear projects, each with "at least 600 MW of capacity," World Nuclear News reported. Neither the value of the investment nor the locations were disclosed, and no reactor technology has been chosen.
"This innovative approach links capital investment directly with the growing demand for clean baseload power, with Google having the option for commercial off-take once projects are complete," Google said. It described the agreement as part of its work "to source 24/7 baseload energy to support our operations and strengthen power grids."
Elementl, founded in 2022, describes itself as a technology-agnostic developer offering development, financing and ownership for customers that want nuclear power but do not want to own or operate nuclear assets. Its stated mission is to deploy more than 10 GW of next-generation nuclear in the United States by 2035. The two companies will work with utility and regulated power partners to identify and advance projects, and Elementl will continue evaluating technology, construction and other partners.
"Innovative partnerships like this are necessary to mobilise the capital required to build new nuclear projects," said Elementl chairman and chief executive Chris Colbert.
Why the early money matters
New nuclear projects face their hardest financing problem at the start. Before a construction permit, a developer has to spend heavily on site characterization, environmental review, safety analysis and engineering, with no guarantee that the project will proceed. Traditional lenders and utilities are reluctant to carry that risk, especially for first-of-a-kind designs.
Hyperscalers are stepping into that gap. Amazon's agreement pays for the analyses that lead to a permit application. Google's funds site preparation before a technology is picked. In both cases the tech company gets an option on future power rather than a guaranteed supply, and accepts that some of its money may be spent on projects that never reach construction.
The two approaches complement Google's and Amazon's other nuclear moves. Google signed an agreement in October 2024 to buy power from Kairos Power's small modular reactors, with a fleet of up to 500 MW by 2035, World Nuclear News noted. Amazon's Cascade project is tied to X-energy's design. Elementl gives Google exposure to whichever technology proves most ready by the time its sites are prepared.
The timeline problem
None of this power arrives soon, and both companies have said as much. Cascade's operations are targeted for the 2030s, and Elementl's goal runs to 2035. For data centers being built today, these projects do nothing to ease near-term supply. They are bets that today's AI demand will still need firm, carbon-free power a decade from now, and that someone has to pay to start the clock.
The schedules also depend on milestones outside the companies' control. Cascade follows Dow's Long Mott project, so delays at the first Xe-100 deployment would likely ripple into Washington. Elementl's sites will need utility partners, regulatory approvals and a reactor vendor willing to commit.
What to watch
For Cascade, the next steps are a final contract with Cascade Nuclear Partners and the construction permit application to the NRC. For Elementl, the first disclosure of site locations and a chosen technology will show how far Google's early capital has moved the projects. Both will test whether funding the earliest and riskiest stage of nuclear development turns into steel in the ground before the end of the decade.