Facebook parent company Meta signs 20-year deal with Constellation Energy to meet AI computing needs
Meta has also been added to the latest series of big tech companies investing in the nuclear energy sector. Facebook's parent company Meta has signed a 20-year contract with Constellation Energy to meet the needs of AI computing. Along with this, the production capacity of Illinois-based Constellation Energy's nuclear power plant will also expand.
After the agreement with Meta, Constellation's Clinton Clean Energy Center will be operational again. Although it was about to be closed in 2017 after incurring more losses, the plant became the basis for keeping it operational after the passage of the Zero-Emission Credit Program (Zero-Emission Credit Program) law in the United States. According to the Nuclear Energy Institute, 25 US states passed laws promoting advanced nuclear power last year. This year too, the parliamentarians there have submitted more than 200 bills supporting nuclear energy.
It is claimed that the new contract will increase the output of the plant by 30 megawatts, save 1100 jobs locally and generate an annual revenue of 13.5 million US dollars. According to AP's news, the company said that electricity is currently being supplied to about 800,000 American households from the Clinton plant.
Big tech companies are currently facing pressure to increase energy supplies and significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions, the big results needed for AI and data centers. While investment in small nuclear reactors is increasing, large companies are looking to nuclear power for alternative energy.
According to the Financial Times, Amazon and Google signed a historic power purchase agreement last year. Google signed a contract with Cyrus Power Company and Amazon with X-Energy Reactor. Google has also announced that it will invest in three advanced nuclear power projects with Elementor Power. According to Constellation Energy, the purchase agreement signed by Microsoft with Constellation Energy will be implemented from 2028 and will be valid for a period of 20 years. The plant will provide Microsoft with approximately 835 megawatts of carbon-free energy.
Technology companies have started to increase interest and investment in nuclear energy as energy demand increases due to their various AI-related projects and data center operations. Recent agreements are being made to invest in the development of advanced small modular reactors (SMRs) used to produce low-carbon electricity.
Along with this, the share price of companies like Oklo Inc., NuScale Power, Cameco, Constellation Energy, BWX Technologies, active in SMR development has increased.
US regulators have touted nuclear power's special advantages of being clean, available around the clock and operating through small modular reactors that can be developed at low cost. However, environmental advocates do not consider nuclear energy to be 'clean'. Environmentalists, in particular, have expressed concern over Microsoft and Constellation Energy's reopening of a Pennsylvania plant at a location known as Three Mile Island. The plant was shut down in 1979 after an accident. The accident is considered the worst nuclear accident in American history.
