Meta Inks Multi Gigawatt Nuclear Power Deals for AI Data Centres

Meta Platforms Inc. has signed a number of electricity purchase agreements to meet power needs at its artificial intelligence data centres in the US, as per news reports.  

The agreements cover supply from operating nuclear plants as well as support for new reactor projects planned over the next decade. The company did not disclose financial terms. 

Scale of Energy Secured 

Meta said the agreements could support up to 6.6 gigawatts (GW) of electricity capacity by 2035. In the power sector, 1 gigawatt is generally considered enough to supply about 750,000 homes.  

On that basis, the combined capacity would be similar to the electricity demand of roughly 5 million households. 

Ohio Data Centre Development 

Much of the electricity is intended for Meta’s Prometheus data centre project in New Albany, Ohio.  

The facility, announced in July, is planned as a 1 GW campus made up of multiple buildings. Meta has said the site is expected to start operations this year and will be used to run large AI computing systems. 

Supply from Existing Nuclear Plants 

Meta will buy more than 2.1 GW of electricity from two operating nuclear plants in Ohio owned by Vistra Corp.  

The agreements also include electricity from planned expansions at those sites and from a third Vistra nuclear plant in Pennsylvania. Vistra said the power will continue to be delivered through the regional grid. 

Licensing and Grid Impact 

Vistra said the contracts provide enough certainty to apply for 20 year licence renewals for the reactors. Electricity from the plants will still be supplied to the wider mid-Atlantic grid, which serves customers across states including Ohio and Pennsylvania. 

New Reactor Projects 

Meta has also agreed to fund new nuclear capacity. Under a deal with TerraPower LLC, the company will support the construction of two Natrium reactor units with a combined capacity of up to 690 megawatts, with delivery expected from 2032. The agreement also allows access to power from up to six additional units, totalling about 2.1 GW by 2035. 

Other Agreements and Fuel Mix 

Separately, Meta has partnered with Oklo Inc. on plans for a 1.2 GW nuclear power campus in Pike County, Ohio. These deals follow a 20 year nuclear power agreement signed in June with Constellation Energy Corp.. Meta has also said some data centres will use natural gas-fired power where new nuclear capacity is not yet available. 

Read More: Meta, Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Netflix Hiring Ramps Up in India as H-1B Rules Tighten! 

Conclusion 

The agreements show how Meta plans to secure electricity for future data centre demand using a mix of existing nuclear plants, new reactor projects and other power sources. 

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