Meta to Buy Nuclear Power from Illinois Constellation Plant

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Constellation Energy (Baltimore, Maryland) is reaping the rewards of a clean energy push for data centers from some of the biggest names in Big Tech. The company's most recent agreement comes in the form of a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Meta Platforms Incorporated (Menlo Park, California) for the output from the Clinton Clean Energy Center, a nuclear power plant in Illinois.

The Clinton Clean Energy Center has a single 1.21-gigawatt (GW) reactor. The 20-year agreement deal will help keep the plant operational into 2047. The facility was previously slated for premature closure in 2017 for economic reasons. However, the state delivered a lifeline with the Zero Emission Credit (ZEC) program under its Future Energy Jobs Act, which provides financial support to the plant through 2027. The PPA with Meta begins in June 2027, just as the funding from the ZEC program expires, allowing the plant to remain in operation with Meta's funds for the 20-year duration of the PPA.

While the ZEC program is ratepayer-funded, the Meta deal will allow the plant to remain open without tapping public funds. "Constellation's agreement with Meta is a market-based solution that essentially replaces the ZEC program and ensures long-term operations of the plant without ratepayer support. The PPA will enable the Clinton Clean Energy Center to continue to flow power onto the local grid, providing grid reliability and low-cost power to the region for decades to come," said Constellation in a press release related to the agreement.

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As part of the agreement, Constellation will perform uprates to the plant that will result in an additional 30 megawatts of power. With plans for the plant's continuing operation, Constellation said it is evaluating strategies to extend the plant's early site permit or seek a new construction permit to pursue development of an advanced nuclear reactor or small modular reactor (SMR) at the site. While there are no operational SMRs in the U.S., the technology offers a scaled-down reactor with a much smaller physical footprint that can be constructed for a fraction of the cost of a conventional reactor.

In September, Constellation signed an agreement with Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, Washington) for output from the planned restart of Unit 1 of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center, in Pennsylvania. Unit 1 stopped operating in 2019 for economic reasons. Under the deal, Microsoft will purchase electricity from the plant in a 20-year agreement to match the energy its data centers consume. The restart of Unit 1 requires a review from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, (NRC), which Constellation estimated would be completed in 2027, paving the way for the reactor to become operational again in 2028. Constellation has said it will invest $1.6 billion in the restart process. Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Power Project Database can click here for more details on the project.

Meta joins Amazon.com Incorporated (Seattle, Washington) and Google Incorporated (Mountain View, California) in their pursuit of nuclear power to offset data center power use. Earlier this year, the three companies and others signed a pledge calling for nuclear energy to triple by 2050. Last month, Google signed an agreement with Elementl Power (Washington, D.C.) to develop three sites for advanced reactors that would each provide 600 megawatts of power. In October last year, Amazon signed an agreement with Dominion Energy Incorporated (Richmond, Virginia) to explore development of an SMR near Dominion's North Anna nuclear power station in Virginia. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.

Data center providers, seeking low-emissions energy, are emerging into a supportive environment for U.S. nuclear power. Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders to overhaul the NRC and speed the deployment of new nuclear power. Agreements like those between Meta and Constellation could pave the way toward a strong, U.S. nuclear power foundation, and Big Tech companies may just have the funds and drive to help make that happen.

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Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).