RICHMOND, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- A new partnership aims to advance the potential of Small Modular Reactors and their development.

On Wednesday, Dominion Energy and Amazon announced a Memorandum of Understanding to explore new development structures for nuclear power development in Virginia.

According to a release, Dominion expects power demand in the Commonwealth to grow by more than five percent annually and demand is expected to double in the next 15 years.

In order to serve this growth, Dominion says it is developing an “all-of-the-above” mix of power generation sources, including investments in offshore wind, solar, battery storage and natural gas as well as nuclear.

The release says power demand is growing at an unprecedented pace in Virginia and other parts of the United States, so utilities like Dominion, state and federal agencies, and technology firms like Amazon are looking at SMRs as potential solutions to provide reliable power.

"Bringing new sources of carbon-free energy to the grid is an important part of Amazon's commitment to serve our customers and achieve net-zero carbon across our operations by 2040," said Kevin Miller, Amazon's Vice President of Global Data Centers. "Nuclear energy is safe, reliable, and can help meet the energy needs of our customers for decades to come. We're excited to innovate alongside Dominion to explore the opportunities that Small Modular Reactors can bring to Virginia, while also helping us all address climate change."

Dominion says SMRs could play a pivotal role in its energy mix by the 2030s due to their ability to generate around-the-clock power just like traditional nuclear power plants. But SMRs have a much smaller footprint and lower upfront capital costs than the traditional plants, like North Anna.

Dominion and Amazon have opted to jointly explore ways to advance SMR development and financing while also lessening the potential cost and development risks for customers and capital investors.

"This agreement builds on our longstanding partnership with Amazon and other leading tech companies to accelerate the development of carbon-free power generation in Virginia," said Robert M. Blue, Chair, President and CEO of Dominion Energy. "It's an important step forward in serving our customers' growing needs with reliable, affordable and increasingly clean energy. This collaboration gives us a potential path to advance SMRs with minimal rate impacts for our residential customers and substantially reduced development risk."

Governor Glenn Youngkin, Senator Tim Kaine and Senator Mark Warner support this agreement.

"The world around us is changing very quickly," said Warner. "Advances in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and advanced manufacturing stand to revolutionize our daily lives, but they also stand to push our energy needs beyond anything we've ever seen before. Virginia is already a leader in nuclear energy, which is why I'm thrilled to see Dominion Energy and Amazon partner up to build the next generation of SMRs right here at home."

In July, Dominion announced it was accepting proposals from leading SMR nuclear technology companies to evaluate the feasibility of developing an SMR at the North Anna Power Station.