Meta inks multi-gigawatt nuclear deals to power US AI data centres
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The news: Meta has unveiled a series of electricity deals with three firms to back existing plants and support development of new advanced nuclear technology to meet its soaring energy demands required to power AI data centres.
The numbers: Meta said that the combined agreements will support as much as 6.6 gigawatts of existing and new generation by 2035.
The context: The tech giant announced that it has agreed to purchase electricity from three existing Vistra Corp plants, as well as several small reactors that Oklo Inc and TerraPower LLS are planning to build over the coming decade.
While the companies did not disclose any detail around funding, Meta said that the agreements will mean that Oklo and TerraPower will have greater business certainty and can raise capital to move forward with their planned projects.
Meta said that the projects will deliver power to the grids that support its operations, including Meta's Prometheus supercluster in New Albany, Ohio. Meta is aiming to see the first new reactors delivered as soon as 2030 and 2032.
Meta said that the deals make it one of the most significant corporate purchasers of nuclear energy in American history.
In June last year, Meta struck a 20-year deal with Constellation Energy to buy nearly 1.1 gigawatts of nuclear power from the Baltimore-based company’s plant in Illinois.
What they said: Joel Kaplan, chief global affairs officer, Meta, said: “State-of-the-art data centers and AI infrastructure are essential to securing America’s position as a global leader in AI. Nuclear energy will help power our AI future, strengthen our country’s energy infrastructure, and provide clean, reliable electricity for everyone. These projects are going to create thousands of skilled jobs in Ohio and Pennsylvania, add new energy to the grid, extend the life of three existing nuclear plants, and accelerate new reactor technologies.”
The source: Meta
