Meta Partners with Constellation to Power Nuclear Plant 20 Years

Post by : Bianca Suleiman

Photo: Reuters 

Meta Platforms, a big technology company, announced on Tuesday that it has made a deal with Constellation Energy, a utility company, to keep one of its nuclear power plants in Illinois running for 20 more years. This is the first time Meta has made a deal like this with a nuclear plant.

This deal is important because big technology companies need more electricity than before. This is because artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers use a lot of power. For the first time in twenty years, the demand for electricity in the U.S. is rising.

The deal will help keep the Clinton Clean Energy Centre open. This power plant might have had to close after 2027 because a program that gave money to clean energy plants in Illinois will end. This program helped plants that make electricity without adding harmful carbon to the air.

Meta’s purchase of power will take the place of that money from the program. It will also help Constellation Energy to renew the plant’s license, which is needed to keep it running until 2047. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission must approve this license renewal.

This deal might be an example for other big tech companies. They may also support nuclear plants while planning to use other energy sources for their data centers.

Because of the news about this deal, Constellation Energy’s stock price went up by 5.7% to $330.93.

The money amount for this deal was not shared, but deals like this usually involve billions of dollars.

The agreement also lets Constellation add 30 megawatts of power to the Clinton plant. The plant now produces 1,121 megawatts, which is enough to power about 800,000 homes in the U.S.

Urvi Parekh, who leads global energy at Meta, said utilities want to be sure that power plants like this will keep working.

Joe Dominguez, the CEO of Constellation, said they are talking with other companies across the country who might also want to support nuclear plants like Meta did. This support helps Constellation invest in keeping the plants open.

Bobby Wendell, a union official, said the deal will give workers at the plant a steady and safe job.

Nicholas Amicucci, an energy expert, said this could be the first of many deals after President Donald Trump made rules to help grow U.S. nuclear power.

Big power deals like this are happening because AI data centers will need more electricity in 2025 and 2026 than ever before.

Last year, Constellation made a deal to restart a nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island to power Microsoft’s data centers. The restart is still waiting for approval.

Other big energy companies, like Vistra Corp and NRG Energy, have also announced big plans recently.