Meta turns to nuclear power to meet AI energy demands

Meta has signed a 20-year power-purchase agreement (PPA) with Constellation Energy to buy electricity from the nuclear plant operated by the Clinton Clean Energy Center in Illinois.

However, Meta won’t use the energy. The PPA helps the tech giant offset the extensive energy use from its growing AI data centers, which often run on natural gas. 

Though financial terms remain undisclosed, Constellation CEO Joe Dominguez said the agreement will fund relicensing and upgrades, thereby increasing the plant’s 1,091-megawatt capacity, which could power 800,000 homes.

The Clinton reactor will continue supplying power to the grid. A similar Microsoft-Constellation agreement is driving the restart of the Three Mile Island reactor.

Nuclear’s new appeal for big tech
With AI data centers consuming massive amounts of conventional energy, Big Tech companies are increasingly turning to nuclear for carbon-free reliability.

The market briefly responded with a 9.1% spike in Constellation shares, though they ended the day down 0.1%. Nuclear backers hope such deals will extend the life of existing plants and spark new reactor projects.