Meta, the parent of Facebook and Instagram, said Tuesday it signed a 20-year agreement to buy the output of a Constellation Energy nuclear plant in Illinois to help run the technology giant’s data centers in the region and help achieve its climate goals.
The first power purchase agreement between a tech company and an operating nuclear plant involves Constellation’s Clinton Clean Energy Center in central Illinois. It is the latest linkup between the nuclear and technology industries in recent months, a romance that has potential implications for energy consumers, the grid, and the ability of governments and private companies to slash carbon emissions.
The 1,121-megawatt Clinton plant, which started operations in 1987, was losing money and on the verge of being unplugged less than a decade ago, suffocated by an influx of wind energy, cheap natural gas and flat power demand. The situation prompted the Illinois Legislature to step in and approve a ratepayer-paid subsidy.
Times have changed, spurred in part by projections of surging power demand from tech giants that need juice to run computer-packed data centers to enable artificial intelligence and machine-learning technology. Meta operates several data centers in the region, including one in DeKalb, Illinois, and the company is developing its largest of 20 data centers globally to the south in Louisiana.
