Meta today announced three offers to supply data centers with nuclear power, one from a start-up, one from a smaller energy company and one from a large company that already operates several nuclear reactors in the US.
ok hey and TerraPowertwo start developing small modular reactor (SMR)each signed an agreement with Meta to build multiple reactors, while Vistra sold capacity from existing power plants.
Nuclear power has become a preferred source of energy for tech companies as AI ambitions have grown, providing stable 24/7 electricity. Startups and existing reactors have benefited from the race for data center power, albeit in different ways.
Existing reactors tend to be the lowest form of baseload capacity, but there’s only so much to do, which has pushed Meta and his colleagues to the SMR startup. Companies like Oklo and TerraPower are betting that by building large numbers of small reactors, they will be able to lower costs through mass manufacturing. This is a plausible hypothesis, although it remains untested. The Meta deal could give SMR startups a chance to prove themselves.
The deal is a result of a ask for proposals issued by Meta in December 2024, Meta is looking for partners that can increase between 1 and 4 gigawatts of generating capacity in the early 2030s. Much of the new power will flow through the PJM interconnection, a grid that contains 13 Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern states and is full of data centers.
The 20-year agreement with Vistra will have the fastest impact on Meta’s energy needs. The technology company will buy a total of 2.1 gigawatts from two existing nuclear power plants, Perry and Davis-Besse in Ohio.
As part of the deal, Vistra will also add additional capacity to that power plant and the Beaver Valley power plant in Pennsylvania. Together, the upgrades will generate an additional 433 MW and are scheduled to come online in the early 2030s.
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Meta also bought 1.2 gigawatts from the young supplier Oklo. Under the agreement with Meta, Oklo hopes to start supplying power to the grid from 2030. The company SMR go public through a SPAC in 2023, and when Oklo has landed a great deals with data center operators Switchhas struggled to get the reactor design approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
If Oklo can deliver on the timeline, the new reactor will be built in Pike County, Ohio. The initial Aurora Powerhouse reactor produces 75 megawatts of electricity, and it needs to build more than a dozen to fulfill Meta’s order.
TerraPower is a startup co-founded by Bill Gates, and it aims to start delivering electricity to Meta as early as 2032. It has designed a reactor that uses molten sodium to transfer energy from the reactor to the generator. If demand is low, superheated salt can be stored in insulated tanks until more power is needed. The reactor can generate 345 megawatts of electricity, while the storage system can provide an additional 100 to 500 megawatts over five hours.
The company has navigated the NRC process more smoothly, and is working with GE Hitachi to build its first power plant in Wyoming. The first two reactors for Meta will provide 690 megawatts, and Meta says it has the right to buy six more units for a total of 2.8 gigawatts of nuclear capacity and 1.2 gigawatts of storage.
Meta did not disclose the financial terms of the transaction.
Buying power from Vistra is always the cheapest – electricity from used nuclear reactors is the cheapest in the network.
Costs for SMR are still not being worked out. Some startups have aggressive cost targets: TerraPower has estimated that it can reduce them $50 to $60 per megawatt-hourwhen Oklo has said it aims to $80 to $130 per megawatt-hour. These figures are for later power plants – the first example will be more expensive.