Meta seeking up to 4 GW of new nuclear to power AI operations

Meta Platforms Inc. has requested proposals from nuclear energy developers to provide the Facebook parent company with 1 GW to 4 GW of new nuclear capacity in the US to power artificial intelligence operations.

"[W]e believe that nuclear energy can help provide firm, baseload power to support the growth needs of the electric grids that power both our datacenters as well as the communities around them," the company said in its Dec. 3 announcement.

As the US electric grid expands to accommodate growing energy needs, including from large-load customers such as datacenters, Meta said supporting the development of clean energy "must continue to be a priority."

"At Meta, we believe nuclear energy will play a pivotal role in the transition to a cleaner, more reliable and diversified electric grid," the company said.

Meta aims to add 1 GW to 4 GW of new nuclear generation starting in the early 2030s. The company is targeting developers who can help accelerate the availability of new nuclear units and create scale to "achieve material cost reductions by deploying multiple units" both for Meta's energy needs and "to advance broader industry decarbonization."

Meta acknowledged that compared to the renewable energy projects it has invested in, nuclear is more capital intensive, takes longer to develop, is subject to more regulatory requirements and has a longer operational life.

"These differences mean we need to engage nuclear energy projects earlier in their development lifecycle and consider their operational requirements when designing a contract," the company said.

Pursuing nuclear generation is part of its efforts to meet its own energy needs while contributing to a more reliable grid overall and advancing sustainability commitments, according to Meta.

Meta recently entered into an agreement with Entergy Louisiana LLC to power a $5 billion datacenter, for which the Entergy Corp. subsidiary filed an application with state regulators to build two new 754-MW gas-fired power plants.

"To show you the enormity of just how big this plant is going to be, they think it will use 30% of the load of Entergy in Louisiana," Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell previously told S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Separately on Dec. 4, Meta confirmed the project, saying that at 4 million square feet, the datacenter in Richland Parish would be the largest in the world. It also estimated the scope of the project at $10 billion.

Entergy hopes to have the project reviewed by October 2025, an accelerated timeline. Meta has also committed to paying for 1,500 MW of designated solar or solar and storage resources, according to Entergy's application.

In October, Google LLC and advanced nuclear technology developer Kairos Power LLC signed an agreement to deploy 500 MW of advanced nuclear projects beginning in 2030 to power the Alphabet Inc. subsidiary's datacenters. Also in October, Amazon.com Inc. announced it had signed three agreements with nuclear developers for advanced reactor projects, including X-energy and Dominion Energy Inc. in Virginia.