An aging nuclear power plant that has been on the verge of shuttering since 2017 has a new lease on life after Meta agreed to support its operations for the next 20 years.
Meta and energy company Constellation announced the deal today, which helps the plant expand its operations while Meta uses it to try to shrink its carbon footprint. It’s the latest in a flood of recent partnerships between Big Tech and the nuclear energy industry, and part of a larger strategy Meta has in the works to bring more nuclear reactors online that can power AI data centers.
The plant, called the Clinton Clean Energy Center, is in Illinois and was initially slated to close in 2017 “after years of financial losses,” according to Constellation. A tax credit that the state established for carbon pollution-free energy allowed the plant to keep running, but only until 2027. Meta is stepping in to provide some financial security beyond that date, although it declined to disclose the amount it’s spending on the deal.
It’s the latest in a flood of recent partnerships between Big Tech and the nuclear energy industry
It’s apparently enough money to help the plant carry out updates that will increase its energy output by 30 megawatts, for a total capacity of 1,121MW. For comparison, the first offshore wind farm in the US — albeit a small operation with just 5 turbines off the coast of Rhode Island — has a 30MW capacity and can generate enough electricity for 17,000 homes.
Keeping the Clinton power plant open is also supposed to save 1,100 local jobs and generate enough electricity for 800,000 homes. It was first licensed in 1987, and Constellation applied last year to renew its license through 2047.
This is Meta’s first power purchase agreement for nuclear energy, the kind of deal companies often strike with renewable energy projects to try to cancel out the impact their greenhouse gas emissions have on the climate. The plant generates electricity and so-called “clean energy attributes” that are like certificates representing the environmental benefits of generating carbon-free energy. The extra income stream from such certificates is supposed to incentivize the buildout of more clean energy, reducing power grid emissions in the long-run — although the real-world benefits are often overblown.
Meta is purchasing an undisclosed amount of those attributes to match a portion of its electricity use. The company has a goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. But its latest sustainability report shows that the company’s carbon footprint has actually grown since 2019 as it focuses more on AI.
Google and Microsoft have also seen their emissions rise with growing energy demand from AI. Meta faces pushback over plans to build its biggest data center yet in Louisiana. The local utility there has proposed building out three new gas plants to support that data center.
The tension between meeting AI energy needs and the impact that has on power grids and the environment has helped to revitalize the nuclear power industry in the US. Microsoft announced a deal with Constellation last year that’s supposed to bring a shuttered Three Mile Island reactor back online.
Meta also followed Amazon and Google in supporting the development of next-generation reactor technology. It put out a request for proposals for nuclear projects that would add 1,000-4,000MW of new generation capacity in the US by the early 2030s. Meta says that effort is ongoing, and that it’s in “final discussions” with a shortlist of projects after receiving more than 50 proposals. Constellation says it’s also considering developing an advanced nuclear reactor at the Clinton site.
