Google nears $1-B nuclear power deal

Google parent Alphabet is close to a multiyear agreement worth at least $1 billion to buy nuclear power from Constellation Energy as technology companies scramble to secure electricity for rapidly expanding artificial intelligence data centers.

The deal could be announced as soon as this week, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the discussions. The exact amount of nuclear capacity and the location of the supply have yet to be disclosed.

Constellation is the largest nuclear plant operator in the United States, while Google has increasingly turned to nuclear energy as the power demands of AI infrastructure surge.

Nuclear power has regained attention from major technology companies because it can provide round-the-clock electricity without direct carbon emissions, unlike intermittent renewable sources such as solar and wind.

The potential Google agreement comes days after Amazon signed a 20-year deal with Constellation for up to 690 megawatts of nuclear power, including new capacity from upgrades to the Calvert Cliffs plant in Maryland.

Google has also backed the restart of NextEra Energy’s Duane Arnold nuclear plant in Iowa, which has been shut since 2020. The project recently secured a US government loan of up to $1.9 billion.

The company has expanded its nuclear strategy outside the United States as well, including a major power agreement tied to its planned $15-billion AI infrastructure investment in Finland.

The rush by Google, Amazon, Microsoft and other technology companies to secure nuclear power reflects one of the biggest constraints facing the AI boom: access to large amounts of reliable electricity.

Microsoft has an agreement tied to Constellation’s planned restart of the Three Mile Island reactor in Pennsylvania, while other technology firms are also pursuing nuclear power and next-generation reactor projects.