Meta Teams with Bill Gates’ Startup on Nuclear Power
▼ Summary
– Meta has secured agreements with three nuclear power providers, TerraPower, Oklo, and Vistra, to supply electricity for its AI data centers.
– These deals are expected to provide 6.6 gigawatts of energy by 2035, an amount sufficient to power a country like Ireland.
– Meta is funding the construction of new nuclear reactors, with the first potentially operational as early as 2030, to support projects like its Prometheus supercluster.
– The company states it will cover the full energy costs for its data centers, ensuring consumers do not bear these expenses.
– Meta’s agreements position it as one of the most significant corporate purchasers of nuclear energy in U.S. history, aiming to bolster America’s global AI leadership.
To meet the immense energy demands of its expanding artificial intelligence infrastructure, Meta has entered into strategic power purchase agreements with three major nuclear energy providers. This move aims to secure a reliable, large-scale electricity supply, essential for powering the company’s next-generation data centers and AI supercomputers. The partnerships signal a significant corporate shift towards advanced nuclear power as a cornerstone for sustainable, high-capacity computing.
The tech giant has signed deals with TerraPower, a company founded by Bill Gates, Oklo, which is backed by OpenAI’s Sam Altman, and the power generation company Vistra. Collectively, these agreements are projected to supply Meta with approximately 6.6 gigawatts of nuclear energy by the year 2035. To put that staggering figure into perspective, it represents enough electricity to power an entire country the size of Ireland. This substantial commitment underscores the vast power requirements of training and running advanced AI models.
A central component of Meta’s AI development is its Prometheus supercluster, the first in a planned series of powerful computing systems. This facility is slated to become operational later this year in New Albany, Ohio. As part of the new agreements, Meta is directly funding the construction of new nuclear reactors. The initial reactors from these partnerships could begin delivering power to the grid as soon as 2030. This initiative builds upon Meta’s existing nuclear strategy, which included a deal last year with Constellation Energy to extend the operational life of an older nuclear plant.
While specific financial terms of the contracts remain confidential, Meta has clarified its funding model. The company has stated it will cover the complete cost of the energy consumed by its data centers, ensuring these expenses are not passed on to utility customers. This approach is part of a broader corporate strategy to manage its substantial environmental footprint and energy procurement responsibly.
In a public announcement, Joel Kaplan, Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer, emphasized the strategic importance of these deals. He noted that the agreements with Vistra, TerraPower, Oklo, and Constellation collectively position Meta as one of the largest corporate buyers of nuclear power in U.S. history. Kaplan further argued that investing in cutting-edge data centers and AI infrastructure is critical for maintaining America’s competitive edge and global leadership in the field of artificial intelligence. This pivot to nuclear energy highlights the industry’s search for clean, baseload power solutions that can support the exponential growth of compute-intensive technologies.
(Source: The Verge)
