Power Weekly: Why Amazon Bought Nuclear Power It Won't Build Next To

• Amazon contracted 690 MW of nuclear power from Calvert Cliffs while dropping plans for a campus next door, decoupling where it buys power from where it builds compute.
• Expect more deals structured this way: the priority is securing power, and projects will go wherever they can be built and permitted quickly.
• The U.S. installed a record 18.9 GWh of battery storage in Q2 2026, even as installed power capacity fell, because systems are getting longer.
• Average storage duration rose to about 3.5 hours from 2.8, as data center demand calls for sustained, reliable support.
• Federal permitting reform has a practical deadline of mid-December 2026, before the current Congress ends on January 3, 2027.

Stuart Pomeroy
Account Executive, Paces

Why did Amazon buy nuclear power from Calvert Cliffs without building next to it?

Amazon signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Constellation for 690 MW from Calvert Cliffs, along with a retail supply agreement covering its operations in the PJM market. The power flows onto the regional grid rather than to a co-located campus, so Amazon can contract for the power in one place and build compute wherever sites can be built and permitted quickly.

What is the Amazon and Constellation Calvert Cliffs deal?

Announced September 30, 2026, the 20-year agreement covers 690 MW, including about 190 MW of new capacity from uprates expected between 2030 and 2032. Constellation says it enables more than $3 billion of investment and supports relicensing the plant for another 20 years.

How much battery storage did the U.S. install in Q2 2026?

According to Wood Mackenzie and the American Clean Power Association, the U.S. installed a record 5.4 GW and 18.9 GWh of battery energy storage in Q2 2026. Energy capacity rose year over year while power capacity fell 7% year over year.

Why are battery storage systems getting longer?

The average U.S. storage system duration rose to about 3.5 hours from 2.8 hours, as developers install fewer but longer-duration systems. Growing demand from data centers and other large loads that need sustained, reliable support is one of the drivers.

What is the deadline for federal permitting reform?

Any permitting bill must pass the Senate and House and reach the president before the current Congress ends on January 3, 2027. With the holiday recess, the practical deadline is mid-December. Otherwise the bill has to start over in the new Congress.

Hey. What's up, everyone? We're back. I'm Stu, and welcome to another episode of Power Weekly, where we highlight the most important industry news and share our take on why it matters so that you can stay in the know on the go.

Hope everyone had a great summer and spent some time with friends and family, at the beach or elsewhere. Personally, I spent some time at the beach. I got engaged. We got a tiny mic. We got some merch. We're ready to go for the fall season here at Paces and here at Power Weekly. I'm back at HQ right now. I was in Dallas... or not Dallas, I was in Vegas for Yotta earlier this week for a different conference, and then I'm in Dallas next week for the Infra Energy Finance conference. If you'll be there, hit me up. I'd love to say hi and meet up. Let's go ahead and dive into it.

First up, from the data center world. Amazon signed a power purchase agreement with Constellation for 690 MW from the Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant in Maryland. Now, what's funny here is that in August, Amazon withdrew its plans to build a campus right next door to the plant. So they have decoupled where they are sourcing power and electrons from where they're actually going to build a campus and build compute. Power and electrons are somewhat fungible depending on how you contract them, but expect more deals to be structured like this, where you decouple location from the actual physical delivery because of cost, complexity, something like that. The main thing is that you need the power, and you're going to locate your project wherever you can get it built and permitted quickly and efficiently.

Next up, from the energy world, battery storage just posted a record quarter in the U.S. The U.S. installed about 18.9 gigawatt hours in Q2, according to ACP and WoodMac. Now, what's interesting here is that total installed capacity actually fell a little bit quarter over quarter, but gigawatt hours rose overall. That's because we are installing longer systems. The average system in the U.S. now runs about 3.5 hours, compared with 2.8 previously. So fewer, longer battery systems are going in. Why? A variety of different market factors, AI demand being one of them, where you need continuous, uninterruptible duration from things like BESS support.

I'm really keen to keep watching this, because BESS is obviously a tax-incentivized, policy-supported technology right now. I think what we might see is a rebound next quarter, where both nameplate capacity and duration increase because of things like new BESS going in with repowering and new standalone BESS. So I'm going to keep watching this next quarter, but that's the readout on Q2: fewer, longer-duration systems.

Lastly, from the policy and utility world: permitting. We saw the bill text last week. I'm not going to break it down today because there's still so much wood to chop on that. Specifically, the text has to go through the Senate committees, then to the Senate floor, then to the House, and eventually to the president. That's all on a timeline, and the midterms are involved. The important thing here is that all of those steps happen during the current Congress. There are going to be steps, and there are going to be revisions. The current Congress ends on January 3, 2027. Technically, the recess begins on the 18th. So the timeline to get Senate revisions, House revisions, and ultimately to the president's desk is really December 15 to December 18. Otherwise, the bill has to start over in the new Congress that starts on January 3 or January 4. So there's lots of wood to chop, but the important thing is the December timing on getting those revisions done and getting that bill passed.

That's all for today. Drop us a comment or a DM. We always love to hear from you about what you're seeing and what you're tracking in the market. I'll see you next week.