Cumulus Data is a data center campus located next to the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in northeast Pennsylvania. The facility was developed to supply power directly from the adjacent nuclear energy source to support large-scale computing operations.

Amazon agreed to acquire the Cumulus data center campus from Talen Energy in a transaction valued at $650 million. The acquisition will place the facility under the company’s cloud computing division, Amazon Web Services.

The data center complex, known as Cumulus, was developed by Talen Energy adjacent to the Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant. When the campus opened in early 2023, it had an initial capacity of 48 megawatts, with plans to expand the site to approximately 475 megawatts once fully developed.

Following the acquisition, the facility will form part of Amazon Web Services’ data center infrastructure. The site’s proximity to a nuclear power plant provides a dedicated source of electricity for the data center’s operations.

Other Projects

Other than the Amazon Atomic data centers leveraging nuclear energy, Deep Fission is also advancing it through the world’s first underground nuclear reactor. The company has commenced an historic drilling for the world’s first underground nuclear reactor in the state of Kansas. The company is known well in the field of advanced nuclear energy as it develops the monumental project. Its scope entails small modular pressurized water reactors installed one mile underground. Moreover, the company announced earlier this week that it had begun drilling for its first acquisition well in Parson, Kansas.

The well will be drilled to a depth of approximately 6,000 feet. Moreover, it will have a diameter of roughly eight inches. The well is the first of three planned and represents the initial phase of site characterization and engineering validation.

The Scope of the Atomic Data Center Acquisition by Amazon

Amazon and Cumulus data came to a consensus that the e-commerce giant will acquire the Cumulus facility and associated power infrastructure. The other facility on the site, the Nautilus Cryptomine will remain to Cumulus Data jointly owned by Talen. The joint venture operations of the two companies will be named TeraWulf. The project’s terms of sales also indicated that Talen will not get the finances of the facility in full upfront. Rather, the electricity company will receive $350M when the deal is done, and an additional $300M upon the completion of the development milestones. This will all be done in the course of 2024. It is still unclear the significance that Amazon will have on the facility once it takes over, but it shows potential of immensely improving the operations of the facility.

The Significance of the Atomic Data Center Acquisition

Amazon’s atomic data center acquisition is of great significance to the e-commerce company. The company will immensely benefit from the acquisition deal as Talen is expected to continue supplying Amazon with direct access to power. The power supply will be from the electricity produced by the nuclear power plant. This is highly significant as the company can expand its resources and market while using renewable energy to do so. It is expected that AWS will have a maximum of 960 megawatts of electricity at its disposal annually. The company also has a one-time option to cap its commitments once its at 480 megawatts.

The Renewable Energy Deal is a Tremendous Achievement for AWS

The deal marks Amazon’s latest investment in carbon-free and renewable energy to power its growing data center footprint. Last month, Amazon  signed a power purchase agreement with a wind farm in Gilliam County, Oregon. The operation, run by Avangrid, involves 40 turbines capable of producing a combined 90 megawatts of power. This is about 2.4 megawatts produced by each turbine. Amazon has also explored alternatives to traditional power plants. Early last year, it revealed that it planned to power three sites using about 75 megawatts of natural gas fuel cells and had an option to use the tech on a fourth site.

Project Factsheet: Cumulus Data Center Campus

• Project Name: Cumulus Data Center Campus
  • Location: Near the Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant, Northeast Pennsylvania, United States
  • Estimated Transaction Value: $650 Million
  • Project Type: Nuclear-powered hyperscale data center campus

Timeline

• Early 2023: Campus becomes operational.
  • 2024: Acquisition agreement signed by Amazon.
  • 2024: Transaction structured with milestone-based payments.

Site & Scale

• Initial Capacity: 48MW.
  • Planned Expansion Capacity: Up to 475MW.
  • Power Source: Direct supply from adjacent nuclear power plant.
  • Infrastructure: Hyperscale computing facility for cloud operations.

Key Developers / Authorities / Partners

• Talen Energy – Original developer and power supplier.
• Amazon – Buyer and future operator through cloud division.
• Amazon Web Services – Cloud infrastructure operator.
• Cumulus Data – Data center development entity under Talen Energy.
• TeraWulf – Joint venture partner operating the Nautilus Cryptomine on site.

Strategic Objectives

• Expand nuclear-powered data center infrastructure.
  • Support hyperscale cloud computing demand.
  • Provide carbon-free electricity for data operations.
  • Strengthen AWS data center capacity in the U.S.

Power & Infrastructure

• Direct nuclear energy supply from Susquehanna plant.
  • Expected AWS electricity access up to 960MW annually.
  • Option for AWS to cap commitments at 480MW.

Transaction Structure

• $350M paid at deal closing.
  • $300M paid after development milestones.
  • Power supply agreement maintained with Talen Energy.

Current Status

• Acquisition agreed between Amazon and Talen Energy.
  • Facility operational with initial 48MW capacity.
  • Expansion planned toward 475MW full buildout.
  • Campus transitioning into Amazon Web Services infrastructure.

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