Meta Strikes 20-Year Nuclear Deal with Constellation, Sending Nuclear Stocks Soaring Amid Hyperscaler Energy Shift

In a landmark deal that underscores the convergence of hyperscale computing and clean baseload energy, Meta Platforms (META) has inked a 20-year power purchase agreement with Constellation Energy (CEG) to secure emissions-free nuclear power from Illinois' Clinton Clean Energy Center. The agreement ensures the continued operation of the Clinton nuclear plant through at least 2047, long after Illinois' Zero Emission Credit (ZEC) program expires in 2027, and marks a pivotal shift in how Big Tech is securing reliable energy for AI and data-intensive operations.

Watch: Tortoise Capital’s Rob Thummel Talks Nuclear Power’s Role in the Energy Future

The deal will provide Meta with 1,121 megawatts of carbon-free energy, beginning in mid-2027, and enable a 30-megawatt capacity expansion at Clinton through plant uprates. Importantly, the PPA guarantees that the Clinton facility will remain operational without public subsidy, replacing the state’s ZEC program with a purely market-based solution. The economic and social implications are vast: 1,100 high-paying jobs preserved, $13.5 million in annual tax contributions maintained, and a commitment from Constellation to invest $1 million in local nonprofits over five years.

CEG CEO Joe Dominguez called the agreement “a model for how America’s clean energy future can be driven by partnerships with forward-thinking companies,” while Meta’s Head of Global Energy, Urvi Parekh, cited the deal as vital to the company’s AI ambitions, which are heavily reliant on uninterrupted, clean electricity. The Clinton plant, once slated for closure due to financial losses, now stands as a symbol of how nuclear can bridge the gap between economic development and environmental stewardship.

The announcement lit a fire under nuclear-related equities in early trading. Constellation Energy surged 13% premarket. Uranium and small modular reactor (SMR) names also caught a bid, with Oklo (OKLO) up 8%, Centrus Energy (LEU) and Uranium Energy Corp (UEC) each up 9%, Energy Fuels (UUUU) gaining 8%, and Vistra (VST) and NuScale Power (SMR) both jumping more than 6%. Even diversified utilities with nuclear exposure like NextEra Energy (NEE) saw modest gains (+2%).

Meta's commitment to nuclear is not an isolated case—it is part of a growing trend among hyperscalers racing to secure baseload energy capacity as AI and cloud computing workloads grow exponentially. AI models require not only massive amounts of data and compute power, but energy supply that is both constant and sustainable. With the limits of solar and wind intermittency becoming clearer, nuclear—particularly SMRs—is increasingly seen as a necessary piece of the infrastructure stack.

Microsoft has already made headlines through its partnership with Constellation Energy to restart the Unit 1 reactor at Three Mile Island, renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center. The deal will provide Microsoft with long-term carbon-free energy and marks one of the company’s largest energy procurement moves. Microsoft is also exploring additional SMR projects to power its Azure cloud infrastructure.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has gone further, deploying capital directly into nuclear infrastructure. In October, AWS invested $500 million through its Climate Pledge Fund into X-energy, a leading SMR startup. That was followed by partnerships with Dominion Energy and Energy Northwest to explore SMR deployment in Virginia and Washington State, respectively. AWS even acquired a nuclear-powered data center campus in Pennsylvania for $650 million, securing proximity to zero-carbon electrons.

Google, meanwhile, is hedging its clean energy strategy with both SMRs and solar. It has partnered with Kairos Power, an SMR firm targeting commercial deployment by 2030, while simultaneously inking the company’s largest-ever solar PPA for an 875MW array in Texas. Google’s dual-pronged approach reflects a broader trend: hyperscalers are no longer satisfied with just buying clean energy certificates—they want real, dispatchable, clean power.

This hyperscaler-nuclear alignment isn’t about ideology; it’s about physics and math. McKinsey estimates that global data center power demand could rise from 60 GW today to over 220 GW by 2030. Goldman Sachs forecasts that U.S. data centers alone will consume 8% of the country’s electricity by the end of the decade, up from just 3% today. Faced with these projections, Big Tech has recognized that nuclear—long sidelined by regulatory inertia and political stigma—is uniquely suited to meet surging demand while supporting climate goals.

Constellation's PPA with Meta thus signals more than just a corporate contract—it’s a market signal. As demand from hyperscalers accelerates and public subsidies phase out, bilateral deals with nuclear providers could become a new standard, revitalizing a sector once deemed too costly or politically fraught. The ripple effects are already visible in capital markets and policy circles, where interest in SMR deployment and nuclear permitting reform is intensifying.

In summary, the Meta-Constellation deal is not just a lifeline for the Clinton plant—it’s a blueprint for how nuclear can re-emerge as a cornerstone of the digital economy. For hyperscalers with AI ambitions and for investors betting on energy infrastructure's next evolution, this may only be the beginning.The deal will provide Meta with 1,121 megawatts of carbon-free energy, beginning in mid-2027, and enable a 30-megawatt capacity expansion at Clinton through plant uprates. Importantly, the PPA guarantees that the Clinton facility will remain operational without public subsidy, replacing the state’s ZEC program with a purely market-based solution. The economic and social implications are vast: 1,100 high-paying jobs preserved, $13.5 million in annual tax contributions maintained, and a commitment from Constellation to invest $1 million in local nonprofits over five years.

CEG CEO Joe Dominguez called the agreement “a model for how America’s clean energy future can be driven by partnerships with forward-thinking companies,” while Meta’s Head of Global Energy, Urvi Parekh, cited the deal as vital to the company’s AI ambitions, which are heavily reliant on uninterrupted, clean electricity. The Clinton plant, once slated for closure due to financial losses, now stands as a symbol of how nuclear can bridge the gap between economic development and environmental stewardship.

The announcement lit a fire under nuclear-related equities in early trading. Constellation Energy surged 13% premarket. Uranium and small modular reactor (SMR) names also caught a bid, with Oklo (OKLO) up 8%, Centrus Energy (LEU) and Uranium Energy Corp (UEC) each up 9%, Energy Fuels (UUUU) gaining 8%, and Vistra (VST) and NuScale Power (SMR) both jumping more than 6%. Even diversified utilities with nuclear exposure like NextEra Energy (NEE) saw modest gains (+2%).

Meta's commitment to nuclear is not an isolated case—it is part of a growing trend among hyperscalers racing to secure baseload energy capacity as AI and cloud computing workloads grow exponentially. AI models require not only massive amounts of data and compute power, but energy supply that is both constant and sustainable. With the limits of solar and wind intermittency becoming clearer, nuclear—particularly SMRs—is increasingly seen as a necessary piece of the infrastructure stack.

Microsoft has already made headlines through its partnership with Constellation Energy to restart the Unit 1 reactor at Three Mile Island, renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center. The deal will provide Microsoft with long-term carbon-free energy and marks one of the company’s largest energy procurement moves. Microsoft is also exploring additional SMR projects to power its Azure cloud infrastructure.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has gone further, deploying capital directly into nuclear infrastructure. In October, AWS invested $500 million through its Climate Pledge Fund into X-energy, a leading SMR startup. That was followed by partnerships with Dominion Energy and Energy Northwest to explore SMR deployment in Virginia and Washington State, respectively. AWS even acquired a nuclear-powered data center campus in Pennsylvania for $650 million, securing proximity to zero-carbon electrons.

Google, meanwhile, is hedging its clean energy strategy with both SMRs and solar. It has partnered with Kairos Power, an SMR firm targeting commercial deployment by 2030, while simultaneously inking the company’s largest-ever solar PPA for an 875MW array in Texas. Google’s dual-pronged approach reflects a broader trend: hyperscalers are no longer satisfied with just buying clean energy certificates—they want real, dispatchable, clean power.

This hyperscaler-nuclear alignment isn’t about ideology; it’s about physics and math. McKinsey estimates that global data center power demand could rise from 60 GW today to over 220 GW by 2030. Goldman Sachs forecasts that U.S. data centers alone will consume 8% of the country’s electricity by the end of the decade, up from just 3% today. Faced with these projections, Big Tech has recognized that nuclear—long sidelined by regulatory inertia and political stigma—is uniquely suited to meet surging demand while supporting climate goals.

Constellation's PPA with Meta thus signals more than just a corporate contract—it’s a market signal. As demand from hyperscalers accelerates and public subsidies phase out, bilateral deals with nuclear providers could become a new standard, revitalizing a sector once deemed too costly or politically fraught. The ripple effects are already visible in capital markets and policy circles, where interest in SMR deployment and nuclear permitting reform is intensifying.

In summary, the Meta-Constellation deal is not just a lifeline for the Clinton plant—it’s a blueprint for how nuclear can re-emerge as a cornerstone of the digital economy. For hyperscalers with AI ambitions and for investors betting on energy infrastructure's next evolution, this may only be the beginning.