AWS buys Talen's Cumulus data centre campus next to a nuclear plant

2024-03-04 · Publisher : AWS · Domain : Cloud & DevOps

Talen Energy sells AWS its 960 MW campus in Berwick, Pennsylvania, connected to the Susquehanna nuclear plant, for USD 650 million, with a long-term power purchase agreement.

### Background On 4 March 2024, Talen Energy announces the sale to Amazon Web Services of **Cumulus**, a 960 MW data centre campus in Berwick, Pennsylvania, directly connected to the Susquehanna nuclear power plant. The price is USD 650 million, of which USD 350 million at closing and USD 300 million released on development milestones. In parallel, Talen commits to supply up to 960 MW of carbon-free electricity from the plant. AWS plans to develop a 960 MW data centre on the site. ### Key facts - Price: USD 650 million for all tangible and intangible Cumulus assets. - Capacity: four substations, i.e. 960 MW of potential redundant capacity. - Power contract: minimum commitments ramping in 120 MW steps from 2025, at a fixed price for 10 years. - AWS has a one-time option to cap the commitment at 480 MW, with two possible 10-year extensions. - Talen keeps its 75% interest in Nautilus, the neighbouring cryptocurrency mining site. ### Why it matters A strong signal of a hyperscaler buying a site tied to a power plant rather than relying on the grid alone. For IT departments, the scarce resource of AI cloud becomes the power connection: capacity is now negotiated with energy producers, not only with server makers. The deal foreshadows the wave of nuclear agreements in late 2024. ### Takeaway The data centre is now built where available electricity is, here next to a reactor.

Tags : Datacenter, Énergie, AWS, Hyperscaler, États-Unis