Meta announced on Tuesday morning that it will invest billions of dollars to keep an Illinois nuclear power plant operating until 2047. The social media giant will purchase all the “clean energy attributes” of Constellation Energy’s Clinton Clean Energy Center, a 1.1 gigawatt nuclear power plant located in central Illinois, starting in June 2027.
Electricity generated by the plant will continue to feed into the local grid, meaning that Meta’s purchase will not directly power any of its data centers, although the company does have one located about two hours away in DeKalb. The deal is more about carbon accounting, aimed at reducing Meta’s overall climate impact. While it won’t reduce emissions on the grid, it will prevent them from potentially increasing.
Exact financial terms of the multibillion-dollar deal between Meta and Constellation were not disclosed. However, this investment will help Constellation relicense the plant and secure a customer for the duration of the extended license.
Big Tech companies, including Meta, have shown increased support for the nuclear power industry in recent times. With the growing demand for data centers, tech companies have been looking for reliable power sources, resulting in investments in nuclear startups.
The agreement between Meta and Constellation is seen as a way to safeguard the nuclear power plant from potential shutdown, even though such an outcome was not imminent. The plant was initially set to close in June 2017 due to competition from cheap natural gas. However, subsidies from Illinois legislators encouraged Constellation to continue operations. With those subsidies set to expire in 2027, the deal with Meta will help prevent the plant’s closure.
Since 2017, Constellation has not threatened to shut down the Clinton power plant. Instead, the company announced in 2022 that it would seek to extend the reactor’s operating license until 2047.
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TechCrunch reached out to Constellation regarding its plans for the Clinton power plant before the Meta deal was announced, and we will update this article if we receive a response. It is likely that the company would have turned to ratepayers for support, as hinted in Constellation’s press release: The agreement with Meta “essentially replaces the ZEC [zero-emission credit] program and ensures the long-term operation of the plant without relying on ratepayer support.”
Meta and other tech giants have shown a growing interest in nuclear power. Earlier this year, Meta invited proposals for new nuclear power plants generating between 1 and 4 gigawatts of power. Today, the company reported receiving over 50 qualified submissions for sites in more than 20 states.
With the partnership with Meta, Constellation has gained another major supporter for its nuclear fleet. In September, the power provider announced the reactivation of a reactor at Three Mile Island after Microsoft committed to purchasing all the resulting power.
