Meta has entered a 20-year agreement with Constellation to purchase 1.1 gigawatts of nuclear energy from the Clinton Clean Energy Center in Illinois starting in 2027. The deal supports Meta’s growing AI and data center needs and marks a long-term commitment to clean energy as demand from the tech sector surges.
Clinton facility to stay open without state support
In 2017, the Clinton nuclear plant could have closed down because of financial difficulties. WITT2 will not use Illinois’ Zero Emission Credit program as the agreement requires the plant to be kept running. As a result of the deal, the grid will get an additional 30 megawatts of capacity, over 1,100 jobs will be safeguarded and local taxes will rise by $13.5 million per year. State officials, like Representative Regan Deering, thought this was a good move for both energy security and the region’s progress.
Nuclear power fuels Meta’s $65B AI push
Meta’s agreement to buy clean energy is intended to help it support the AI activities it is growing. the company is working towards using four gigawatts of clean energy and has agreements close to finalisation with several suppliers. In 2025, Meta is allocating $65 billion to improve AI infrastructure for the power it requires to run advanced computing systems.
According to the International Energy Agency, data center electricity usage will almost double before 2030. Meta aims to automate the creation of ads on both Facebook and Instagram by 2026 which this growth supports. Based on user location and timing, AI creates advertisements with text, images and videos. According to Mark Zuckerberg in Meta’s Q1 earnings report, AI helped make ads more effective, raising ad prices by 10 percent and boosting impressions by 5 percent. For the quarter, the company made $42.31 billion which was an increase of 16 percent from a year ago.
Avoiding economic and environmental impact
The agreement with Constellation avoids the environmental and economic losses that would have followed a plant shutdown. A study by the Brattle Group warned that closing the Clinton facility would have added 34 million metric tons of carbon emissions over 20 years. It also projected a $765 million annual hit to Illinois’ GDP. By keeping the facility running, Meta secures a stable clean energy source without burdening taxpayers or ratepayers.
Constellation mentioned that nuclear energy is consistent which is very important for high-use AI systems.
The post Meta Secures 20-Year Nuclear Energy Deal to Power AI Expansion first appeared on Coinfea.