While the global economic landscape is currently on fire this Friday, Amazon is now about to snort a Yellowstone sized amount of nuclear power, thanks to a 1,920-MW power purchase agreement with Talen Energy. 

(Source: Giphy) 

For context: One megawatt powers about 750 American homes (give or take, depending on how many PS5s and air fryers you’re running). So 1,920 MW? That’s enough to keep 1.4 million homes humming along, lights blazing, Netflix buffering, and every single “smart” fridge in the tri-state area sending you passive-aggressive reminders about your expired milk. 

As for the build out, Amazon Web Services is building its data center Death Star next to Talen’s Susquehanna nuclear plant, and they want it running on pure, uncut, carbon-free electrons. No coal or gas invited. With that said, Talen’s deal is a 1.92 gigawatt monster, set to ramp up from 840 MW in 2029 to the full blast by 2032, and run through 2042 (with options to keep the party going). Which is a BFD for Talen considering the contract is expected to shovel about $18 billion into Talen’s pockets over its lifetime. 

(Source: Yahoo Finance) 

But, but, but… instead of the old “co-located load” arrangement (where Amazon’s data center sucks power right next door like a leech), Talen is moving to a “front-of-the-meter” system after transmission upgrades in 2026. Translation: Susquehanna’s reactors will pump juice straight into the PJM grid, and Talen will play retail supplier. PPL Electric Utilities gets the joy of handling delivery, while the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)... who recently cockblocked Amazon’s last expansion attempt… can go pound sand, because this setup doesn’t need their rubber stamp. 

Naturally, Amazon’s press team is already bricked up on the matter. They’re dropping $20 billion on data centers in PA, promising 1,250 “high-skilled” jobs (read: server wranglers and a small army of HVAC techs), and claiming they’re single handedly dragging Pennsylvania into the AI future. Meanwhile, Talen’s CEO is preaching “balance sheet flexibility” like anyone outside of Wall Street gives a sh*t. 

(Source: Utility Drive) 

But alas, for Amazon, this is a market earthquake for their cloud business. PJM’s own market monitor is warning that shoveling existing nuclear electrons into hyperscale data centers tightens supply, spikes prices, and screws over regular customers. The last PJM capacity auction saw a $9.3 billion jump in market revenue… because surprise, when Amazon wants all your power, you get to pay more to keep your beer cold. 

On the other hand, do investors really care? Yes and no. For Amazon investors aren’t too impressed considering shares are facing a -1.46% dip to close out the week. As for Talen, it’s FOMO central. Shares are currently mooning 5.41% off the news, presumably because they get to milk Amazon for all their worth. 

(Source: Giphy) 

Moral of the story? This is a major deal in the nuclear space that has investors hot and bothered over Talen. Additionally, it’s also a reminder that the next time you ask Alexa to play Nickelback on level 11, there’s a nuclear reactor in Pennsylvania working overtime for your dumb requests. (It’s me, I’m the one with the dumb requests). 

For now, keep your eyes on this story over the weekend, and let’s see how the market thinks next week. As always, place your bets accordingly, and have a great weekend. Until next time, friends…

At the time of publishing, Stocks.News holds positions in Amazon as mentioned in the article.