In June, Meta announced the signing of a 20-year corporate nuclear energy agreement with Constellation Energy for the Clinton Clean Energy Center, in order to support its operations in the region. As a company that is committed to enhancing AI developments, Meta sees this type of agreement as a way to ensure the effectiveness of its data centers in the face of increased energy demand.
Meta is not the first tech giant to look at nuclear energy as a key sector for the future. Microsoft has also signed a deal with Constellation Energy, which enables the restart of the Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear reactor in Pennsylvania. Amazon entered into a Purchase Power Agreement (PPA) with Talen Energy that secures supplies from the Susquehanna nuclear power plant to Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers. It also announced Small Modular Reactor deals with Dominion, X-energy and Energy Northwest. Google, in its turn, partnered up with both Kairos Power and Elementl to invest in advanced nuclear energy projects. Other companies, like Oracle or Open AI, are in the planning stage. Oracle intends to have SMR-powered data centers by 2030 and Open AI is exploring nuclear energy as an option to address future needs.
Tech giants turning to nuclear power is a smart choice that should be highlighted. Nuclear energy stands out not just for its high effectiveness but also for its sustainability. Nuclear power plants can operate at full capacity for more than 92% of the time, arguably more than any other energy source. The closest in terms of capacity is Geothermal power, which can fully operate for around 74% of the time. Furthermore, Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), which are becoming increasingly popular, underline how effective nuclear energy can be. SMRs can be 100 to 1000 times smaller than conventional reactors, being able to produce up to 300 MWe per unit. The building time is also significantly less—while large power plants tend to need over 5 years for construction, factory-fabricated SMR modules take around 36 months.
Another benefit of nuclear energy is its low environmental impact. Environmental benefits of nuclear energy include an extremely low CO2 emission rate, a small land footprint, minimal waste production, and less radiation release than any other major energy source. And, once again, if nuclear energy is clean, SMRs highlight how clean it can be. Since they are smaller in size, power and capacity, they require less space and less cooling water than large-scale reactors, while still being able to be mass-produced.
In fact, besides the need to handle increaning energy demands caused by AI, environmental reasons also played a role in tech giants’ decisions to turn to nuclear energy. Meta’s newly signed agreement with Constellation Energy is related to a “Clean Energy Project.” Microsoft has set goals to become carbon-negative by 2030 and to reduce Scope 3 emissions by more than half compared to 2020. Amazon cited its SMR agreements as a part of its plan to transition to carbon-free energy (CFE). Finally, Google intends to operate 24/7 on CFE in 5 years.
The math is simple: skyrocketing AI demand plus climate urgency equals nuclear necessity. When tech’s biggest players—Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google—all reach the same conclusion, it’s no coincidence. Companies and policymakers now have their blueprint for the energy transition ahead.
* Beatriz Santos is the Chief Communications Officer (CCO) at We Are Innovation. She is based in Lisbon, Portugal. Beatriz started publishing articles through her University newspaper and eventually moved to national and international reach outlets, including the well known Portuguese outlets NOVO and Observador. Her professional career includes international communications experience with the ATREVIA agency and the European Parliament. She also has two published books and is an essential part of the Students For Liberty organization in Portugal. With a focus on positive change and global cooperation, Beatriz actively seeks partnerships across the globe to promote innovative initiatives.
Source: We Are Innovation
