AP Business Writer, Matt Ott
WASHINGTON (AP) – META cuts 20-year contracts to secure nuclear power to meet a surge in artificial intelligence and other computing needs at Facebook’s parent company.
Investment with Meta will also expand the production of energy and nuclear power plants in the Illinois constellation.
The agreement announced Tuesday is the latest in a series of high-tech nuclear partnerships as AI usage grows. Financial details for the contract have not been revealed.
Constellation’s Clinton Clean Energy Center was actually scheduled to close in 2017 after years of economic loss, but was saved by Illinois law that established a zero-emissions credit program to support the plant in 2027.
Meta’s arrival will increase Clinton’s clean energy production by 30 megawatts, maintaining 1,100 local jobs and bringing in $13.5 million annual tax revenue.
“To continue to advance our AI ambitions, we need to ensure clean and reliable energy,” said Urvi Parekh, global energy director at Meta.
The surge in investment in small reactors comes when large tech companies face two major demands. Among other needs, the need to increase the energy supply of AI and data centers and it is seeking to achieve long-term goals to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions are mostly generated from the combustion of fossil fuels such as gasoline, oil and coal. Nuclear energy produces waste, but does not release carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases.
Constellation, owner of the closed three-mile island nuclear power plant, said in September it plans to restart the reactors so that technology giant Microsoft can have the power to supply the data center. Located on the Susquehanna River, just outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the 3-mile island was the site of the country’s worst commercial nuclear power generation accident in 1979.
Also last fall, Amazon said it was investing in a small nuclear reactor two days after a similar announcement by Google. Additionally, last month, Google announced it was investing in three advanced nuclear energy projects using ElementL Power.
As policymakers consider expanding subsidies and obstructing regulatory obstacles, U.S. states are positioning themselves to meet the power needs of the tech industry.
Last year, 25 states passed laws to support advanced nuclear energy, and this year lawmakers introduced more than 200 bills in favour of nuclear energy.
Advanced reactor designs from competing companies are filling the federal government’s regulatory pipeline to promote them as a reliable, climate-friendly way to meet power demands from the tech giants desperate to bolster the fast-growing artificial intelligence platform.
Amazon, Google and Microsoft are also investing in solar and wind technologies that provide electricity without generating greenhouse gas emissions.
Stocks of Baltimore-based Constellation Energy Corp. were flat on Tuesday.
Original issue: June 3, 2025 10:50am EDT
