Google, Constellation Energy Strike Deal for Nuclear Power

Google parent Alphabet Inc. has agreed to a 20-year deal to buy nuclear power from Constellation Energy Corp., as technology companies race to line up power for the data-center boom.

The agreement is for 890 megawatts of new power coming online, the companies said in a statement on Tuesday, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. Constellation will spend more than $4.3 billion on the build out. The capacity will come onto the PJM Interconnection grid, the biggest transmission operator in the US.

The immense amount of electricity required for the artificial intelligence boom is helping to revive interest in nuclear energy, which offers around the clock power that’s also emissions-free. Recent deals have focused on existing facilities as new reactors can take a decade or more to permit and build, and the next wave of fission technology is still likely years from widespread deployment.

Read More: Amazon Nuke Deal to Help Expand Constellation Maryland Site

Amazon.com Inc. struck a similar deal last week with Constellation. The cloud and e-commerce company agreed to buy 690 megawatts of power, including capacity from upgrading the Calvert Cliffs nuclear facility in Maryland.

Google already has multiple agreements with atomic power producers. It agreed last year to buy electricity from NextEra Energy Inc., a deal that will support the power company’s plans to restart its Duane Arnold reactor in Iowa that’s been shuttered since 2020. And last month the tech company lined up new capacity from Southern Co. by funding upgrades at two atomic plants.

And Microsoft Corp. agreed to buy the electricity from the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear plant in 2024. Constellation is planning to restart its reactor at the site in Pennsylvania next year.

While safety risks and heavy cost overruns saw the world sour on atomic energy early last decade, it’s been undergoing a global revival over the last few years. As well as surging demand from the tech sector for data centers, nuclear power is being embraced by many nations as a way to cope with a jump in electricity consumption while cutting emissions.