Amazon Still Backs Talen Nuclear Deal After Regulatory Snub

(Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc. said it’s committed to building a data center campus adjacent to a Pennsylvania nuclear plant after the top US energy regulator rejected a special deal to power the facility.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Friday voted down a request by Talen Energy Corp. that would have increased the amount of power its nuclear plant could supply to an Amazon Web Services data center. Shares of US power producers slumped in response, as investors bet that FERC’s ruling would set back efforts by major technology companies to gain quick access to nuclear energy to power their growing data centers. 

“We remain committed to continue innovating and advancing carbon-free energy solutions with companies like Talen Energy to power data center operations in the United States and the many technologies supporting our customers and our daily lives,” Duncan Neasham, an Amazon spokesperson, said Monday in an email. Reached by phone, Neasham confirmed the company intends to go forward with the Talen project. 

Talen in March had announced that Amazon’s cloud computing unit would pay $650 million for a data center campus of as much as 960 megawatts adjacent to Talen’s Susquehanna nuclear plant. Talen shares gained as much as 9.8% to $186.64 on Tuesday, after Amazon confirmed its continued support for the project. Amazon’s stock rose about 1%.

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Under the deal, the data center campus would be powered directly by the plant, meaning Amazon wouldn’t have to plug into the wider grid or fund related transmission upgrades. Some utility owners challenged the move, saying it could threaten grid reliability and raise rates. Talen had previously secured the rights to power the facility with as much as 300 megawatts in that manner. That authorization is unaffected by FERC’s ruling. 

Amazon and other big cloud-computing companies, desperate for power to support their growing operations while pursuing their public goals to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, have sought agreements with operators of nuclear power plants.