Amazon and Google Are Paying for Nuclear Plants Years Before They Exist
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. 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.
Cascade will sit next to Energy Northwest's Columbia Generating Station near Richland. 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. 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. A week earlier, on October 16, the agency unveiled the project's name and concept images.
"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. "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. 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.
"Innovative partnerships like this are necessary to mobilise the capital required to build new nuclear projects," said Elementl chairman and chief executive Chris Colbert. None of this power arrives soon, and both companies have said as much. For Cascade, the next steps are a final contract with Cascade Nuclear Partners and the construction permit application to the NRC.