Facebook parent Meta becomes the latest American company to 'go nuclear' for AI
Meta has signed a 20-year agreement to secure nuclear power to meet the growing energy demands for artificial intelligence and other computing needs at Facebook's parent company. According to a report by Associated Press, the deal will also boost the output of Constellation Energy's Clinton Clean Energy Center in Illinois.
Announced on June 3, the agreement is part of a broader trend of tech companies partnering with nuclear energy providers as AI usage surges. Financial terms were not disclosed. The Clinton plant, originally set to close in 2017 due to financial losses, was sustained by Illinois' zero-emission credit program, which expires in 2027, as per the report. The Meta deal, effective from June 2027, will increase the plant's clean energy output by 30 megawatts, preserve 1,100 local jobs, and generate $13.5 million in annual tax revenue, the companies said.
'Securing clean, reliable energy is necessary to continue advancing our AI ambitions,' Meta's head of global energy, Urvi Parekh, said. The report notes that tech giants face dual pressures: increasing energy supplies for AI and data centers while meeting ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals. Constellation, which owns the shuttered Three Mile Island plant, announced in September a plan to restart it to supply Microsoft's data centers, the AP reports. The Pennsylvania plant was the site of the U.S.' worst commercial nuclear accident in 1979.
Amazon and Google have also invested in small nuclear reactors, with Amazon announcing plans two days after Google last fall, and Google investing in three advanced nuclear projects with Elementl Power last month, according to the report.
The AP report adds that 25 states passed legislation supporting advanced nuclear energy last year, with over 200 nuclear-friendly bills introduced this year, per the Nuclear Energy Institute. However, the U.S. faces challenges in scaling nuclear production, with no next-generation reactors operating commercially and only two new large reactors built in nearly 50 years, completed significantly over budget and behind schedule in Georgia, the AP states.
Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are also investing in solar and wind energy, which produce no greenhouse gas emissions, the AP adds.
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