Meta has secured a 20-year agreement to obtain nuclear power, aiming to meet the increasing demands for artificial intelligence and other computing needs at Facebook’s parent company.
Thie investment will also boost the output of a Constellation Energy nuclear plant in Illinois. Announced on Tuesday, this partnership is part of a growing trend of collaborations between tech companies and the nuclear sector in response to the rising use of AI.
While the financial details of the agreement remain undisclosed, it signals a significant move towards sustainable energy sources.
Interestingly, Constellation’s Clinton Clean Energy Centre was initially scheduled to shut down in 2017 due to ongoing financial struggles. However, a legislative push in Illinois established a zero-emission credit program, which allowed the plant to stay operational until 2027.
The Meta-Constellation deal is set to begin in June 2027, coinciding with the expiration of the state’s taxpayer-funded zero-emission credits.
With Meta joining the fold, the Clinton plant will increase its clean energy output by 30 megawatts, ensuring the preservation of 1,100 local jobs and generating $13.5 million in annual tax revenue, as stated by the companies involved.
“Securing clean, reliable energy is critical for advancing our AI goals,” said Urvi Parekh, Meta’s head of global energy.
Constellation, which owns the defunct Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, recently announced plans to restart that facility to provide Microsoft with power for its data centers.
Three Mile Island, located just outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was the site of the worst commercial nuclear power accident in U.S. history in 1979.
Last fall, Amazon revealed its investment in small nuclear reactors, shortly after similar commitments were made by Google. Furthermore, Google announced last month that it would invest in three advanced nuclear energy projects with Elementl Power.
Across the U.S., states are strategising on how to meet the tech industry’s energy needs as policymakers consider expanding subsidies and easing regulatory hurdles.
In the last year, 25 states passed legislation supporting advanced nuclear energy, and over 200 bills promoting nuclear initiatives have been introduced this year, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute.
Advanced reactor designs from competing companies are currently in the federal government’s regulatory pipeline, as the industry promotes them as a trustworthy, climate-friendly solution to satisfy the electricity demands of tech giants keen to power their rapidly growing AI platforms.
The agreement arrives at a time when nuclear energy is gaining renewed attention. With rising electricity needs from data centers and artificial intelligence applications, nuclear is increasingly viewed as a scalable solution.
In March, a coalition of major corporate energy users—including Amazon, Google, Dow, and Meta—committed to tripling global nuclear energy capacity by 2050.
Prominent financial firms such as Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley also backed the initiative to expand nuclear power.
Constellation’s President and CEO Joe Dominguez said that the partnership with Meta helps avoid the mistake of prematurely shutting down valuable energy assets just as demand continues to climb.
