Meta signs 20-year nuclear energy agreement to meet AI electricity demand

Overseas Chinese News Facebook parent Meta signed a 20-year deal with a nuclear energy company to meet the demand for sharp electricity growth in the growing artificial intelligence (AI) and other computing businesses, becoming the latest large tech company to turn to meet AI needs with nuclear energy.

According to the Associated Press, the cooperation with Meta is targeted at Constellation Energy, the US nuclear power plant in Illinois, which will promote the expansion of production capacity of the Clinton Clean Energy Center.

The agreement announced on Tuesday is the latest case of cooperation between technology companies and the nuclear energy industry in recent years, especially in the context of rapid development of artificial intelligence.Financial details of the agreement have not been released yet.

The Clinton nuclear power plant was originally scheduled to close in 2017 due to years of financial losses, but Illinois passed legislation to establish a “zero emission credit” program to fund nuclear power plants to operate until 2027. The cooperation signed with Meta will officially take effect in June 2027, coincides with the expiration of the state government’s financial subsidy to the factory.

According to information provided by companies from both parties, after the introduction of Meta, clean energy production at the Clinton nuclear power plant will increase by 30 megawatts, retain 1,100 local jobs, and bring local tax revenues of $13.5 million per year.

“Ensure clean and reliable energy is key to our continued advancement of our AI vision,” said Urvi Parekh, global energy director at Meta.

This trend emerged as technology companies poured into small nuclear reactor investments.On the one hand, they urgently need to provide greater power supply to data centers and artificial intelligence platforms; on the other hand, they must fulfill their long-term commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Traditional fossil energy sources such as gasoline, oil and coal emit large amounts of greenhouse gases during combustion, while nuclear energy does not emit carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases, although it produces radioactive waste.

Consteller once owned the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, which became famous for the worst commercial nuclear accident in the United States in 1979. Last September, Consteller announced plans to restart the Three Mile Island reactor to provide Microsoft with the power needed for its data centers.

Last fall, Amazon also announced it would invest in small nuclear reactors, only two days after Google issued a similar statement. In addition, Google announced last month that it would invest in three advanced nuclear energy projects with Elementl Power.

As policymakers continue to push for the expansion of subsidies and simplify regulation, many U.S. states are also scrambling to lay out energy demand for the technology industry.

According to the Nuclear Energy Institute, 25 states passed legislation to support advanced nuclear energy development last year, and more than 200 nuclear-related bills have been proposed in state legislatures this year.

At present, advanced reactor designs from multiple companies are pouring into federal regulatory systems, and the nuclear energy industry sees it as a reliable, environmentally friendly solution to meet the soaring power demand of tech giants in the expansion of AI platforms.

Amazon, Google and Microsoft are also continuing to invest in zero-emission energy projects such as solar and wind.

On Tuesday, Baltimore-based Consteller Energy shares performed smoothly with no significant volatility.

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