Meta Chooses Constellation Energy Illinois Nuclear Power Plant to Meet AI Requirements

WASHINGTON — Meta has signed a 20-year agreement to acquire nuclear energy to cater to the increasing demand for artificial intelligence and other computing requirements at the parent company of Facebook.

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The investment with Meta will also expand the output of a Constellation Energy Illinois nuclear plant.

The collaboration, disclosed on Tuesday, is part of a series of partnerships between technology companies and nuclear power plants to support the growing use of AI. Specific financial terms of the deal were not made public.

Initially, Constellation’s Clinton Clean Energy Center was on track for closure in 2017 due to financial struggles. However, it was rescued when Illinois passed legislation introducing a zero-emission credit program to sustain the facility until 2027. The agreement will come into effect in June 2027, coinciding with the conclusion of the state-funded zero-emission credit program.

With the arrival of Meta, Clinton’s clean energy output will expand by 30 megawatts, preserve 1,100 local jobs and bring in $13.5 million in annual tax revenue, according to the companies. The plant currently powers the equivalent of about 800,000 U.S. homes. George Gross, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois. estimates that 30 additional megawatts would be enough to power a city with about 30,00 residents for one year.

“Securing clean, reliable energy is necessary to continue advancing our AI ambitions,” said Urvi Parekh, Meta’s head of global energy.

Surging investments in small nuclear reactors comes at a time when large tech companies are facing two major demands: a need to increase their energy supply for AI and data centers, among other needs, while also trying to meet their long-term goals to significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Constellation, the owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, said in September that it planned to restart the reactor so tech giant Microsoft could secure power to supply its data centers. Three Mile Island, located on the Susquehanna River just outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was the site of the nation’s worst commercial nuclear power accident in 1979.

Also last fall, Amazon said it was investing in small nuclear reactors, two days after a similar announcement by Google. Additionally, Google announced last month that it was investing in three advanced nuclear energy projects with Elementl Power.

U.S. states have been positioning themselves to meet the tech industry’s power needs as policymakers consider expanding subsidies and gutting regulatory obstacles.

Last year, 25 states passed legislation to support advanced nuclear energy, and lawmakers this year have introduced over 200 bills supportive of nuclear energy, according to the trade association Nuclear Energy Institute.

Advanced reactor designs from competing firms are filling up the federal government’s regulatory pipeline as the industry touts them as a reliable, climate-friendly way to meet electricity demands from tech giants desperate to power their fast-growing artificial intelligence platforms.

Still, it’s unlikely the U.S. could quadruple its nuclear production within the next 25 years, like the White House wants. The United States lacks any next-generation reactors operating commercially and only two new large reactors have been built from scratch in nearly 50 years. Those two reactors, at a nuclear plant in Georgia, were completed years late and at least $17 billion over budget.

Additionally, Gross recommends that the U.S. invest more in the transmission grid that moves that power around.

“That’s my biggest concern,” Gross said, adding that spending on the grid has actually fallen off in recent years, despite the voracious demand for energy.

Amazon, Google and Microsoft also have been investing in solar and wind technologies, which make electricity without producing greenhouse gas emissions.

Shares of Constellation Energy Corp., based in Baltimore, were flat Tuesday.