Source: nei.org
Date: May 22, 2025
By: Lucas Johnson
Twitter LinkedIn If you’ve read the news at all in the last year, you’re likely aware that the expansion of AI is exacerbating our energy demands and putting our climate goals at risk. As AI expands and tech giants scramble for energy that’s clean, constant, and scalable, nuclear power is stepping into the spotlight.
In this episode, Mary and Jordan sit down with Faraz Ahmad, the former head of Amazon’s global clean energy team, to explore why Big Tech is betting on nuclear. With a résumé spanning GE, NextEra, and British Nuclear Fuels, Faraz offers a rare insider’s look at why nuclear is becoming essential infrastructure for the digital age.
“In 2022, I joined Amazon as part of their energy team to lead this wide initiative of how they can get to net-zero, which is a climate goal that they have to be net-zero by 2040. But the mission is essentially the same throughout, which is not just the decarbonization aspect, but how do you get reliable, affordable, and decarbonized electricity for Amazon’s needs and also then for the grid at large.”
Faraz grew up in Northern England, where nuclear energy was very prominent and touched a lot of lives. Whether it was powering something in your neighborhood or you knew someone who worked at the plant, it was kind of a big deal. That’s partially how Faraz knew he wanted a future in nuclear, and how he knew nuclear isn’t necessarily the new kid on the block.
“I won’t be atypical in that general understanding there was a major part of local infrastructure and that is providing much needed power for the country. I think one aspect that has maybe not been understood more broadly is nuclear essentially is not new. We’ve actually done this for quite a while, but we went into this essentially a little bit of a long-term lag or pause.”
His history with nuclear and his experience working with energy provided Faraz with a unique perspective on the industry and on our surging enemy demands. He knows how important this moment in time is, and it isn’t just tied to surging demands from AI. Faraz really brought humanity into the equation.
“There’s still 800 million people in the world who have absolutely zero access to electricity, at least another billion people in a world who are access to the grid and electricity, but they have intermittent access with brownouts or blackouts, etc. And so, we’ve got fundamental drivers in terms of you cannot be prosperous without energy. And so, there’s still a large part of the world who needs to essentially raise their living standards and have energy, so that’s the first point.”
As we expand AI usage and more data centers are built, it’s important to remember that plenty of folks around the globe need energy, and we need to have a clean and reliable energy source for everyone. Enter: Nuclear. Listen to the full episode to learn more about our surging energy demands and more!
