Amazon Signs 20-Year Nuclear Deal to Power $3 Billion Data Center Upgrade at Calvert Cliffs

Amazon has signed a 20-year nuclear power agreement to facilitate a $3 billion upgrade at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant in Maryland, securing a long-term source of clean energy for its data center operations as the company faces mounting pressure to power its AI infrastructure.

The deal is part of Amazon's broader strategy to address the enormous electricity demands of modern data centers, which require far more power than traditional computing facilities. Amazon expects to spend $220 billion on capital expenditures in 2026, much of it directed at AI infrastructure.

Calvert Cliffs, operated by Constellation Energy, is one of the largest nuclear plants on the East Coast. The $3 billion upgrade is intended to extend the plant's operational life and increase its generating capacity, with Amazon securing a portion of that output under the long-term agreement.

The nuclear deal follows a pattern of tech companies turning to power-intensive but carbon-free energy sources to meet data center demand. Microsoft signed a similar agreement to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania, and Google has invested in small modular reactor technology.

Amazon has also committed more than $1 billion to community projects near its data center sites to address local concerns about the environmental and infrastructure impacts of large-scale construction.

The company is also exploring unconventional financing approaches to manage the cost of AI hardware. Reports indicate Amazon is developing an $8 billion financing vehicle to move Nvidia hardware off its balance sheet, a sign of the financial complexity involved in scaling AI infrastructure at this pace.

Micron Technology reported record fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $54.23 billion, driven by demand for high-performance memory used in AI workloads, underscoring the scale of investment flowing into the sector.