Meta has entered into a 20-year agreement to secure nuclear power to support the growing energy demands of artificial intelligence and other computing operations at Facebook’s parent company. This deal will also increase the output of a Constellation Energy nuclear plant in Illinois.
The announcement marks the latest in a series of partnerships between tech companies and nuclear energy providers as AI usage continues to expand. Financial details of the agreement were not shared.
Constellation’s Clinton Clean Energy Center, which was initially scheduled to close in 2017 due to financial losses, was kept operational thanks to Illinois legislation that established a zero-emission credit program supporting the plant until 2027. The new deal will take effect once this taxpayer-funded program expires in June 2027.
With Meta’s involvement, the plant’s clean energy production will grow by 30 megawatts, helping to preserve 1,100 local jobs and generating $13.5 million annually in tax revenue. Currently, the plant supplies power equivalent to roughly 800,000 U.S. homes. An engineering professor at the University of Illinois noted that 30 megawatts could power a city of about 30,000 people for a year.
Meta’s head of global energy, Urvi Parekh, emphasized that securing clean, reliable energy is essential for advancing AI initiatives.
This surge in investments in smaller nuclear reactors comes as major tech companies face the dual challenge of increasing energy supply for AI and data centers while striving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the long term.
Constellation, which owns the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear plant, announced plans last September to restart the reactor to provide power for Microsoft’s data centers. Three Mile Island was the site of the U.S.’s worst commercial nuclear accident in 1979.
Last year, Amazon and Google also revealed investments in small nuclear reactors. Google additionally announced investments in three advanced nuclear energy projects with Elementl Power.
Across the U.S., states are preparing to meet the growing power needs of the tech industry, with policymakers considering expanded subsidies and easing regulations. In the past year, 25 states passed legislation supporting advanced nuclear energy, and over 200 bills have been introduced this year to promote nuclear power.
Advanced reactor designs are moving through federal regulatory processes, with the industry promoting them as reliable and environmentally friendly solutions to meet the tech sector’s energy demands.
However, experts caution that it is unlikely the U.S. will quadruple its nuclear energy production within the next 25 years, as desired by the White House. The country currently has no commercial next-generation reactors in operation, and only two large reactors have been built from scratch in nearly five decades—both of which faced significant delays and cost overruns.
An expert also highlighted the need for increased investment in the power transmission grid, which moves electricity across regions. Despite rising energy demand, spending on the grid has declined in recent years.
Besides nuclear, companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are also investing heavily in solar and wind power to generate clean electricity.
Shares of Constellation Energy, headquartered in Baltimore, remained steady on the day of the announcement.
