Facebook parent Meta Platforms has announced a 20-year deal with a massive nuclear energy provider company to supply electricity to power its artificial intelligence data centers.
The long-term agreement with Constellation Energy will draw power from a nuclear plant in Illinois, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, ensuring a steady, carbon-free energy source to meet Meta’s growing AI needs.
The deal mirrors a similar partnership between Constellation and Microsoft, which involves the Three Mile Island nuclear facility — a power plant that NPR referred to as the scene of the worst commercial nuclear accident in U.S. history.
“It’s a very, very big deal,” said KTLA consumer reporter David Lazarus.
Lazarus explained how these commitments reflect the tech industry’s soaring demand for electricity, fueled by the explosive growth of artificial intelligence systems.
“These commitments highlight Big Tech’s insatiable need for electricity to fuel AI — in fact, enough juice to power a small city,” Lazarus said. “And on top of that, AI facilities require enormous amounts of water to cool the equipment, because they’re just running full throttle all the time.”
Proponents of AI point to its potential to transform productivity and society, but critics warn of the environmental and ethical trade-offs, especially as Big Tech turns to once-fading energy sources like nuclear.
“This is an industry that is all but reinvigorating the nuclear power industry, which was once pretty much on the ropes as other fuel sources were found,” Lazarus said. “And now Big Tech is bringing nuclear power back in a big way.”
As Lazarus put it, “On the one hand, what we have here is memes. On the other hand, Three Mile Island. You figure it out.”
