By Sarah Rosa , Benton Arnett | Real Clear Energy
Nuclear energy has made headline after headline lately, with the latest announcement coming from Amazon and X-energy regarding their partnership to deploy more than 5 GW of next-generation nuclear energy — the largest commercial deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs) to date. With a rapid rise in projected electricity demand and ambitious climate targets ahead, it is no surprise that nuclear energy is the focus of many private-sector investments.
The announcement from Amazon and X-energy comes after several groundbreaking announcements from other leading corporations. Earlier this month, the world’s largest banks came together to pledge their support for nuclear energy. Soon after, Google announced its agreement to purchase power from leading advanced nuclear reactor developer, Kairos Power, and Apple updated its clean energy criteria to include nuclear energy. And notably, Microsoft and Constellation Energy announced a deal to reopen nuclear reactor Unit 1 at Three Mile Island as the Crane Clean Energy Center.