TLDR
- Meta signed nuclear power agreements totaling more than 6 gigawatts to power its AI data centers
- Vistra shares jumped 14% in premarket trading while Oklo surged 17% after announcing separate deals with Meta
- Meta will buy 2,176 megawatts from Vistra’s Ohio reactors plus an additional 433 megawatts from capacity improvements
- Oklo secured funding to develop a 1.2-gigawatt campus in Pike County, Ohio, with first phase targeted for 2030
- The deals make Meta the largest nuclear power buyer among major tech companies, surpassing Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft
Meta is going all-in on nuclear power. The social media giant just locked down the biggest nuclear energy portfolio in Big Tech.
The company announced deals Friday that could bring more than 6 gigawatts of nuclear power to its data centers. That’s enough electricity to power roughly 5 million homes.
The move comes as Meta races to build the infrastructure needed for artificial intelligence development. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to spend hundreds of billions through the end of the decade on AI.
Vistra shares climbed 14% in premarket trading, making it the top performer in the S&P 500. Oklo stock surged 17% on the news.
Meta struck three main agreements. The largest involves buying 2,176 megawatts from Vistra’s Perry and Davis-Besse reactors in Ohio.
The Vistra deal includes an additional 433 megawatts from planned improvements at those plants and its Beaver Valley facility in Pennsylvania. The 20-year contracts ensure long-term power supply.
Small Reactor Development Gets Major Backing
The company also agreed to support small reactor development with Oklo and TerraPower. These projects won’t deliver power for years.
Oklo secured funding for a 1.2-gigawatt campus in Pike County, Ohio. The first phase targets a 2030 launch, with full capacity by 2034.
Meta provided prepayment to help Oklo secure nuclear fuel. The exact amount remains undisclosed.
TerraPower will develop two reactors capable of generating 690 megawatts, with delivery as early as 2032. Meta also secured rights to six additional future reactor projects totaling 2.1 gigawatts.
The nuclear deals will help power Meta’s Prometheus project, a 1-gigawatt data center cluster in New Albany, Ohio. That facility is expected to come online this year.
Meta’s head of global energy, Urvi Parekh, said the agreements address concerns about existing nuclear plants shutting down. She stressed the need for early investment in new nuclear power.
The company isn’t putting all its eggs in the nuclear basket. Meta’s Hyperion project in rural Louisiana will run on natural gas initially.
That facility could scale to 5 gigawatts and come online in 2028. Entergy has applied to connect more natural gas generation to the grid for the project.
Tech Companies Battle for Power Supply
US power usage is expected to climb at least 30% by 2030. Data centers will drive most of that new demand, according to Grid Strategies.
Electricity has become a major bottleneck for AI development. Power suppliers are struggling to keep pace with demand.
Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft have all signed nuclear deals. Meta’s agreements now dwarf those plans.
Oklo still needs approval from federal regulators for its 75-megawatt reactor design. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission accepted its principal design criteria for review under an accelerated timeline in September.
The company held a groundbreaking ceremony for its first powerhouse at Idaho National Laboratory in September 2024. Construction has started with a target deployment of late 2027 or 2028.
Oklo remains in the pre-revenue stage and faces heightened scrutiny. The partnership with Meta could boost the startup’s credibility.
Vistra’s nuclear plants will continue supplying the PJM grid, which serves more than 67 million people from the Midwest to the mid-Atlantic. Meta will tap into that existing infrastructure while supporting future capacity additions.
The post Meta Stock: Company Signs 6+ Gigawatt Nuclear Power Deals appeared first on Blockonomi.
Source: https://blockonomi.com/meta-stock-company-signs-6-gigawatt-nuclear-power-deals/
