OKLO Microreactor Selected for Alaskan Air Force Base
Oklo Announces $400 Million Public Offering of Common Stock
Standard Nuclear Emerges from Stealth with $42 Million in Series A Funding
Utah San Rafael Energy Lab Signs MOU with NuCube Energy
UK Accepts Newcleo’s Lead-Cooled Reactor Technology For Generic Design Assessment
Proxima Fusion Company Raises $148 Million
World Bank Lifts Ban On Nuclear Energy
Talen Energy Expands Nuclear Energy Relationship with Amazon
OKLO Micro Reactor Selected for Alaskan Air Force Base
The Department of the Air Force (DAF), in coordination with the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Energy Office, this week reached a critical milestone in piloting advanced nuclear energy technology. It issued a Notice of Intent to Award (NOITA) to Oklo, Inc. for its advanced microreactor.
Oklo’s offering could include a new 75 MW design depending on the outcome of its NRC safety design review. The firm plans to submit the reactor design to the NRC for the review in October 2025 thereby taking advantage in the new federal fiscal year of lower rates from the NRC for reviews of advanced reactors.
The DAF NOITA initiates the negotiation process to potentially award a 30-year, firm-fixed-price contract to Oklo, Inc. after successfully obtaining an NRC license. Neither the USAF nor Oklo included an estimate of the value of the contract in their respective press statements. The Air Force Times reported the contract could be worth $100 million or more over its 30-year duration.
Oklo’s business model is to build & operate its advanced reactors which means every plant it installs at a customer site is a revenue generator for the firm in addition to generating electricity for the customer. Air & Space Forces Magazine reported that under the terms of the deal, Oklo would build and operate a 5 MW microreactor at Eielson Air Force Base, in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Nancy Balkus, P.E., deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for infrastructure, energy, and environment, told reporters on a June 11 media call she hoped the reactor would be up and running by 2030. The current coal-fired power plant at the air force facility provides between 10 MW and 19 MW depending on summer v. winter seasonal demand.
Balkus added that the focus is on proving the concept of building and operating a microreactor in the Arctic, where permafrost degradation, seismic activity, short construction seasons, and expensive logistics make building a challenge.
The contract award follows a nearly two-year delay in the current decision by the USAF. The award to Oklo was originally announced in September 2022. However, Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. (USNC) filed a protest tossing the award into a review by the General Accounting Office. USNC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2024 effectively ending the contract dispute.
If Oklo is in fact awarded the contract, the firm would be required to site, develop, and operate a licensed microreactor facility at a DAF installation selected for site exploration. Eielson Air Force Base, in Fairbanks, Alaska, is the DAF’s preferred location for the pilot. The DAF and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) are preparing an environmental analysis for the project as a next step.
The project is one of two Department of Defense efforts to stage advanced microreactors at military installations in order to insure 24X7 365 reliability and tactical readiness of the forces on these bases. The other effort is Project Pele which is being developed by the Department of the Army. The transportable microreactor is being developed by BWXT. Both Oklo and BWXT will build their first of a kind plants at the Idaho National Laboratory. The Alaskan AIr Force base project would follow after the INL project is already underway. Project Pele started construction at INL in September 2024.
This initiative is rooted in key legislative and executive initiatives, including Section 327 of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act and the 2021 Executive Order 13972, which promotes small modular reactors for national defense and space exploration.
Microreactors are next-generation nuclear energy systems, capable of safely producing 1-50 megawatts (MW) of reliable, continuous electricity without requiring connection to the commercial grid. Designed for safety and security, these compact reactors can operate for years without refueling, ensuring uninterrupted energy supply at almost any location. Oklo’s design has a 10-year fuel cycle.
DOD also is interested in mircoreactors that are transportable and which can be set up or removed from a military installation in a few days. While Project Pele is designed from the ground up to be transportable, Oklo has not positioned its current or pending designs to have this capability.
The USAF said in its press statement the notice of intent for a contract award is made possible in part by strong federal partnerships with DLA Energy, Eielson Air Force Base, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Department of Energy, and Idaho National Laboratory, along with the invaluable support of our state, local, Tribal, and academic partners in Alaska.
For more information on the DAF Microreactor Pilot, or to learn more about microreactors, please visit: https://www.eielson.af.mil/microreactor/ or contact the USAF with specific questions or concerns at: [email protected]
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Oklo Announces $400 Million Public Offering of Common Stock
Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO), announced the pricing of its previously announced underwritten public offering of 6,666,667 shares of its Class A common stock by the Company at a price to the public of $60/share. The gross proceeds from the offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses, are expected to be approximately $400 million.
The Company intends to use net proceeds of the offering for general corporate purposes, working capital and capital expenditures, and potential future investments.
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and BofA Securities are acting as lead book-running managers for the offering. Citigroup and J.P. Morgan are acting as book-running managers for the offering, with UBS Investment Bank also acting as a joint bookrunner for the offering. Canaccord Genuity, Cantor and William Blair are acting as co-managers for the offering. The offering is expected to close on June 16, 2025, subject to customary closing conditions. Underwriters have an option to buy an additional $60 million in shares.
About Oklo and Friends in High Places
Oklo’s CEO Jacob De Witte has a talent for having friends in high places. Billionaire tech investor Sam Altman was an early investor in the firm. Until April 2025 he was the chairman of Oklo’s board and was instrumental in bringing the company public through a merger with his special purpose acquisition company, AltC Acquisition Corp., in May 2024.
Oklo said Altman’s departure in April 2025 allows it to form business deals with OpenAI and other AI firms as well as hyperscale data centers. Also, Chris Wright, now Secretary of the Department of Energy, was previously a member of the Oklo’s board. Oklo replaced Wright with Daniel Poneman, a former DOE official who was previously CEO of Centrus Energy.
Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte joined DOE Secretary Wright on 05/23/25 in the Oval Office at the White House as President Trump announced four executive orders intended to promote the development of the nation’s nuclear energy industry. (YouTube video)
According to Investor’s Business Daily, Oklo’s stock rose significantly after the announcement of the Air Force (previous story) deal but then fell following its release of a new stock offering. Oklo’s stock closed on 06/13/25 at $63.66 after peaking at $71.00/share. Oklo will build, own and operate the Air Force facility.
William Blair analyst Jed Dorsheimer expects a 30-year power purchase agreement under the deal.
“We believe this announcement is a direct result of the White House’s executive order promoting advanced nuclear reactors for DoD and national security interests,” he said.
The Trump White House defines AI as a national security objective and stipulates that the Departments of Energy and Defense work with the private sector to accelerate deployments of SMRs, to power AI.
Nuclear Power for AI Data Centers
Last January then Oklo Board Chairman Sam Altman pitched the Trump administration on his plan for a $500 billion dollar AI infrastructure project called “Stargate” to support artificial intelligence. The project includes backing from SoftBank, Oracle, and the Abu Dhabi fund MGX.
Tech newsletter the Verge called the proposal “science fiction.” This blog assessed the feasibility of building nuclear reactors to power it and said it didn’t seem likely to succeed given what’s known today about timelines, financing, and supply chains for building multiple large units as part of a single power station.
Examples cited include the four 1,400 MW units built by South Korean firms for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the four 1,200 MW units being build by Russia’s Rosatom for Turkey. In both projects each reactor took about eight years to complete from breaking ground to being commissioned on the grid. Even with overlap in start dates to completion time for the entire UAE project took 12 years.
Hyperscaler data centers to support AI applications anticipate that these installations will directly benefit from increased energy capacity resulting from the accelerated deployment of advanced nuclear reactors. AI executives have predicted that large-scale data centers may require their own nuclear power plants either directly connected via private wire or through power purchase agreements via the grid.
In March 2025 Oklo increased the potential capacity of its Aurora Powerhouse reactor from 50MW to 75MW to meet growing artificial data center demand. Data Center Dynamics reported the company claimed that the larger reactor design is more fuel-efficient and offers “economies of scale” by allowing future customers to achieve the same output with fewer reactors.
Oklo has pursued deals with data centers to provide power for them especially customers with energy intensive artificial intelligence operations. For instance, In December 2024 Oklo and Switch, a provider of AI, cloud and enterprise data centers, signed a non-binding Master Power Agreement to deploy 12 GW of Oklo Aurora powerhouse projects through 2044.
This is one of the largest corporate clean power agreements ever signed. The nonbinding Master Agreement establishes a framework for collaboration, with the expectation that individual binding agreements will be signed as project milestones are reached. The agreement with Switch was Oklo’s fifth with a data center company in 2024. Last April, it signed its first nonbinding agreement with a data center operator, inking a 500MW agreement with Equinix.
Oklo Inc. is developing fast fission power plants to deliver clean, reliable, and affordable energy at scale; establishing a domestic supply chain for critical radioisotopes; and advancing nuclear fuel recycling to convert nuclear waste into clean energy.
Oklo was the first to receive a site use permit from the U.S. Department of Energy for a commercial advanced fission plant, was awarded fuel material from Idaho National Laboratory. Oklo is also developing advanced fuel recycling technologies in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and its national laboratories.
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Standard Nuclear Emerges from Stealth with $42 Million in Series A Funding
Standard Nuclear is accelerating the production of TRISO nuclear fuel for advanced reactors at industrial scale
Standard Nuclear, Inc., a reactor-agnostic producer of TRISO nuclear fuel, announced its launch from stealth with $42 million in Series A funding led by Decisive Point with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Washington Harbour Partners, Welara, Fundomo, and Crucible Capital.
Standard Nuclear said in its press statement it is focused exclusively on supporting the advanced nuclear fuel supply chain through scaled production of TRISO, a critical and highly durable fuel for advanced nuclear reactors which presumably means fuel at HALEU levels of enrichment.
Following decades of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) scientific research, in 2019, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a safety evaluation report (ML22101A297) confirming the performance and safety profile of TRISO fuel, marking a significant step toward its use in advanced nuclear reactors.
Tech Crunch reported that Standard Nuclear isn’t an entirely new company. It’s built on assets purchased at auction following the bankruptcy of the Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC) for $28 million. The new company’s CEO, Kurt Terrani, served as vice president at USNC.
In 2024 USNC reported it had developed a Pilot Fuel Manufacturing (PFM) operation in Oak Ridge, TN. The facility is located on the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP), site of Manhattan Project’s K-25 gaseous diffusion plant. USNC said it was involved in manufacturing of TRISO coated fuel particles and its proprietary Fully Ceramic Micro-encapsulated (FCM) fuel. USNC said its PFM facility is used to codify and demonstrate its manufacturing module.
Standard Nuclear now owns and operates a set of fully equipped commercial-scale facilities totaling 19,000-square-feet that sit on its 37 acre campus located at the former K-25 Nuclear site in Oak Ridge, TN. The Company operates its fully permitted radiological facilities to manufacture and supply TRISO fuel forms with varying specifications for its multiple commercial and government customers.
Standard Nuclear says it has $100 million in non-binding fuel sales booked for 2027, and that it is working with customers including Nano Nuclear Energy, which acquired other USNC assets in the bankruptcy auction, and Radiant Industries, another Decisive Point portfolio company. In a statement to TechCrunch, Standard Nuclear acknowledged the bankruptcy purchase, saying that it “accelerated the launch” of its timeline.
“As the demand for power accelerates, nuclear is a clear and practical solution. Advanced nuclear fuels like TRISO for small modular and micro-reactors are necessary to unleash American energy dominance and enable a future with abundant power,” said Thomas Hendrix, General Partner at Decisive Point and Executive Chairman of Standard Nuclear.
“With the capital from this funding round, Standard Nuclear is positioned to deliver on our growing customer orders, accelerate our growth, and fill the domestic supply gap. We are rapidly scaling TRISO fuel production to advance our mission of securing the domestic supply chain and achieving energy independence.”
The company has established strategic customer relationships for its various products and services with a diversified group of commercial and government customers including Radiant Industries, Antares, Nano Nuclear Energy, Jimmy Energy, The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Laboratories, and the Department of Defense.
CEO Terrani said, “Most of the long-anticipated wave of advanced reactors finally arriving to market are harnessing the unique, inherent advantages of TRISO fuel—benefits that have been validated through decades of DOE and NRC investment and scientific rigor.”
“These reactors can’t run without fuel, and we’re here to ensure there are no uncertainties in that supply. We’re not just delivering TRISO fuel at scale—we’re doing it at a cost that enables a robust, competitive, and sustainable advanced reactor industry.”
Next-generation nuclear reactors, such as small modular reactors (SMRs) and micro reactors, will drive the future of reliable and flexible energy. These systems require specialized advanced nuclear fuels to unlock their full potential. Currently, few companies are producing TRISO fuel, and production is limited to small batches for their own proprietary reactor designs. Scaling up to produce TRISO fuel for customers, especially with HALEU levels of enrichment, is one of the key challenges facing developers of advanced reactors.
About TRISO — The Most Robust Nuclear Fuel on Earth
Tristructural Isotropic (TRISO) particle fuel is composed of tiny uranium-bearing spheres encapsulated by successive layers of carbon and ceramic-based materials. Each TRISO particle, about the size of a poppy seed, acts as its own containment system for uranium and its radioactive fission products and eliminating the possibility of a meltdown event.
The unique coated layer structure of TRISO particles enhances fuel performance and safety, making TRISO particularly well-suited for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) and other emerging advanced nuclear reactors.
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Utah San Rafael Energy Lab Signs MOU with NuCube Energy
The Utah San Rafael Energy Lab (USREL), a unit within the Utah Office of Energy Development (OED), and NuCube Energy (NuCube), a nuclear energy company designing a fission reactor capable of producing electricity and high temperature heat, announced signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU).
The MOU establishes a collaboration for siting one of NuCube’s microreactors at USREL located in Orangeville, Utah, about 150 miles south of Salt Lake City well beyond boundaries of the booming technology corridor that parallels the western slope of the Wasatch mountains.
The MOU is also a key step in bringing NuCube’s modular reactors to market. NuCube’s technology is capable of producing the high temperature heat and power from a fission reactor that can be easily integrated with chemical processes and energy conversion technologies. Several of the principals in the NuCube are veterans of Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. which ran out of cash and was sold to investors earlier this year.
NuCube’s reactor design utilizes TRISO (tristructural-isotropic) fuel and heat pipe technology designed to minimize the use of moving parts within the reactor. The microreactor is housed in a stainless-steel compartment that increases safety and streamlines permitting. Testing of NuCube’s microreactors at USREL will be the next step in the technology’s development.
About the San Rafael State Energy Lab
In 2023, management of the San Rafael State Energy Lab was transferred to the Utah Office of Energy Development (H.B. 410). The lab fosters innovation and supports technological developments in the energy sector through community engagement and collaboration with industry leaders, researchers, entrepreneurs, investors and other stakeholders.
Valar Atomics Plans Utah SMR
Separately, Utah Governor Spencer Cox announced that it has agreed with California-based Valar Atomics to site the test of an SMR at USREL. A timeline for licensing the firm’s proposed SMR has not yet been established with the NRC.
There are no documents on file from the firm with the agency based on a search of the ADAMS library. Usually, the filing of a regulatory engagement plan is the first milestone towards completion of the NRC licensing process. Once the firm files one with the NRC the document will also set the firm’s expectations of completing the NRC licensing process. Valar says on its website the firm is developing an HTGR that will use TRISO fuel.
Valar isn’t off to a collegial start with the NRC. It is a participant in a multi-party lawsuit alleging the agency, by the nature of its regulations, is hostile to innovation and that regulation of small reactors should be returned to the states. Valar joins the states of Texas, Utah, Louisiana, Florida, Arizona, as well as reactor companies Last Energy and Deep Fission in pursuing the lawsuit.
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UK Accepts Newcleo’s Lead-Cooled Reactor Technology For Generic Design Assessment
(NucNet) European nuclear technology company Newcleo said its advanced lead-cooled LFR-AS-200 reactor design has been accepted for the UK’s generic design assessment (GDA) regulatory process.
The GDA process, overseen by the UK’s Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency, is designed to evaluate the safety and environmental acceptability of new nuclear designs. It is part of pre-licensing activities and is not site-specific.
Newcleo applied for the GDA in December 2024, while in April 2024, the UK-based Nuclear Industry Association applied for a justification decision for Newcleo’s reactor design, making it the first new reactor design submitted for consideration in the country for almost a decade and the first ever for an advanced reactor.
Justification is a regulatory process which requires a government decision before any new class or type of practice involving ionising radiation can be introduced in the UK.
At the time, Newlceo said the GDA application had built on the regulatory justification application and followed 18 months of technical discussions with French and international regulators about safety options for the LFR and its MOX (mixed-oxide) fuel manufacturing plant.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has confirmed the move, which will allow regulators to begin a detailed review of the 200 MWe lead-cooled fast reactor design’s safety, environmental impact, engineering feasibility, and acceptability for deployment in the UK.
The GDA process is expected to take around two years to complete, but the start date has to be agreed with the UK regulator, according to Newcleo.
The company, which employs over 150 staff in the UK and more than 1,200 across 19 European locations, is currently assessing several potential sites for deployment, including in the UK.
Andrew Murdoch, Newcleo’s managing director in the UK, said the company achieved the GDA acceptance without receiving any public funding.
Newcleo’s LFR technology is designed to operate with recycled nuclear fuel, offering the promise of greater sustainability and reduced waste in nuclear energy production. The company wants to deploy a smaller 30-MW version of its LFR design as a demonstrator plant in France in the early 2030s.
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Proxima Fusion Company Raises $148 Million
German start-up Proxima Fusion announced it had raised 130 million euros ($148 million) in a record funding round.
German start-up Proxima Fusion announced it had raised 130 million euros ($148 million) in a record funding round, with investors hopeful the company can soon develop the world’s first commercial nuclear fusion power plant based on Stellarator design.
See Proxima’s interactive visualization of the firm’s technology.
The Series A financing round, which was co-led by investors Cherry Ventures and Balderton Capital, represents the largest private fusion investment round in Europe to date.
“The single thing maybe that is worth highlighting is the speed at which this is happening,” Proxima Fusion CEO and co-founder Francesco Sciortino told CNBC by video call.
“It is a bit uncommon in the domain of deep tech and especially in Europe, of course, but $150 million gives us the financing that we need for everything that we have ahead of us in the next few years,” he added.
If nuclear fusion can be replicated at an industrial scale, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says the technology could provide virtually limitless clean, safe and affordable energy that meets the world’s demand.
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UK Backs Fusion Energy With £2.5 Billion Investment
Funding unveiled in recent government Spending Review
(NucNet) The UK government has announced over £2.5 billion (€2.9B, $3.4B) of funding in support of the country’s program to design and build a prototype fusion energy plant in northern England.
The investment was put forward as part of the 06/11/25 Spending Review by chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves, which outlines the government’s spending and investment plans for the period between 2026 and 2030.
The government said the effort aims to help progress the Step (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) program which is to see a prototype plant built at the site of the former West Burton coal power station near Retford and Gainsborough, in Nottinghamshire.
In January 2025, the government promised £410 million in fiscal year 2025 for the project, which is scheduled to be completed in 2040.
Part of the funding pledges will also go towards repurposing Jet (Joint European Torus), the UK’s pioneering fusion machine at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in Oxfordshire.
A statement said the £2.5B investment pledge shows the government’s firm commitment to fusion as a core part of the UK’s future energy mix.
The Fusion Industry Association, a US-based global trade association for private fusion companies, has also welcomed the move.
Andrew Holland, the association’s chief executive, said fusion is a “near-term economic opportunity for the UK, worth billions per year in economic activity and is an area in which the UK has a renowned global lead.”
A sustained and sufficient increase in public spending can catalyse ongoing growth in private activity, said the association, adding that over the past year fusion companies spent over £300 million on their supply chain, bringing direct economic activity and jobs well before the first pilot plants are built.
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World Bank Lifts Ban On Nuclear Energy
Move is intended to help energy policies in developing countries
(NucNet contributed to this report) The World Bank’s board of directors has lifted a longstanding ban on financing nuclear power projects in what appears to be a policy shift aimed at supporting developing countries’ energy needs for energy that doesn’t emit CO2 and thus impact climate change.
Bloomberg and the Financial Times said they have seen a note to World Bank staff from its president Ajay Banga saying the multilateral bank will “begin to re-enter the nuclear energy space” in partnership with the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“We will support efforts to extend the life of existing reactors in countries that already have them, and help support grid upgrades and related infrastructure,” Banga’s note said. Banga also said the bank will work towards the acceleration of the potential of small modular reactors.
In March 2025, the head of the World Bank acknowledged he had asked the lender’s board to reverse its long-standing policy against funding nuclear power projects, saying the technology offers a green option for poor countries. He said he expected the move to be included in a broader energy policy proposal expected in June 2026.
The New York Times reported that the decision by the World Bank “could have profound implications for the ability of developing countries to industrialize without burning planet-warming fuels such as coal and oil.”
It called the bank’s decision a “pragmatic approach toward nuclear energy which recognizes that the demand for reliable, affordable, clean energy will only increase in the coming decades as populations grow in Sub-Saharan Africa, India, and Southeast Asia. It could send a signal to other international financial institutions that they should follow suit and also support nuclear projects.”
In Ghana Ismael Ackah, a technical adviser to the Energy Ministry, and a senior advisor to the Energy for Growth Hub, told the ‘Times Ghana wants to build its own reactors without having to throw its lot into one geopolitical corner.
“Things have been slow for us because of global politics around nuclear, but we have been preparing, setting up an institutional structure, identifying sites. We want a 24-hour economy, industrial production to be happening day and night.”
Ackah told the ‘Times that countries like Vietnam and Indonesia are heavily coal dependent and have sought loans to help them retire coal plants early by replacing them with cleaner alternatives.
See prior coverage on this blog: What’s Going on in Ghana with its Nuclear Tender?
Ghana is reported to be considering small modular reactors as an affordable option. The reason for looking hard at the economics of nuclear power is that Ghana’s economy is in dire condition. According to the World Bank, in its most recent assessment of Ghana’s finances, the multilateral lending body wrote; “Persistent challenges remain, notably characterized by elevated inflation, subdued growth, and substantial pressure on public finances and debt sustainability.”
Energy Experts Welcome Bank’s Decision
The Times reported that overall the bank’s move was “welcomed by proponents of nuclear power as an alternative to fossil fuels, the burning of which is the leading cause of global warming.”
“If you care about getting the world off coal, then this is potentially massive, especially in Southeast Asia,” said Todd Moss, executive director of the Energy for Growth Hub.
The Atlantic Council, a DC think tank, called the bank’s decision a “pragmatic approach toward nuclear energy,” which recognizes “that the demand for reliable, affordable, clean energy will only increase in the coming decades.”
According to the Financial Times, the change in the World Bank’s stance on nuclear follows advocacy from the pro-nuclear Trump administration and the change of government in Germany, which had traditionally opposed nuclear power.
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Talen Energy Expands Nuclear Energy Relationship with Amazon
Talen enters power purchase agreement for 1,920 megawatts of carbon-free electricity at full quantity, by 2032, to support Amazon operations, and explore SMR technology.
The power purchase agreement (PPA) is worth $20 billion and runs until 2042.
This is Talen’s second attempt to complete the deal. The first effort was torpedoed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for being a private wire deal that would degrade PJM’s grid reliability.
Talen Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: TLN), an independent power producer dedicated to powering the future, announced today that it has expanded its existing nuclear energy relationship with Amazon to provide carbon-free energy from Talen’s Susquehanna nuclear power plant to Amazon Web Services data centers in the region.
Under the terms of a new power purchase agreement (PPA), Talen will supply electricity to Amazon for operations that support AI and other cloud technologies at Amazon’s data center campus adjacent to Susquehanna, with the ability to deliver power via the grid to other sites throughout Pennsylvania.
The ANS Nuclear Wire reported that FERC, in its 2–1 initial ruling on April 10, 2025, said the parties did not make a strong enough case to prove why a special contract allowing for expanded “behind-the-meter” power sales should be allowed in this instance. Two of the five commissioners did not participate in the vote.
Talen and Amazon will also explore building new small modular reactors (SMRs) within Talen’s Pennsylvania footprint and pursue expanding the nuclear plant’s energy output through uprates, with the intent to add net-new energy to the PJM grid.
The power delivery schedule will ramp over time, expecting to achieve the full volume no later than 2032, with the potential to meaningfully accelerate. This long-term transaction will significantly decrease Talen’s market risk and minimize its reliance on the Federal nuclear production tax credit.
“Our agreement with Amazon is designed to provide us with a long-term, steady source of revenue and greater balance sheet flexibility through contracted revenues. We remain a first mover in this space and intend to continue to execute on our data center strategy,” said Talen President and Chief Executive Officer Mac McFarland. “Talen is well-positioned to support Amazon’s energy needs as it invests further in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
“Amazon is proud to help Pennsylvania advance AI innovation through investments in the Commonwealth’s economic and energy future,” said AWS Vice President of Global Data Centers Kevin Miller. “That’s why we’re making the largest private sector investment in state history – $20B – to bring 1,250 high-skilled jobs and economic benefits to the state, while also collaborating with Talen Energy to help power our infrastructure with carbon-free energy.”
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