Why is Meta Turning to Nuclear Energy for Data Centres?

Meta has emerged as one of the largest corporate buyers of nuclear energy in US history as it looks to secure long-term, carbon-free power for its expanding data centre and AI footprint.

The company behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp has confirmed a series of power purchase agreements that together account for 6.6GW of nuclear offtake by 2035. 

The deals, signed with Vistra, TerraPower and Oklo, follow on from an earlier agreement with Constellation Energy and place Meta alongside other hyperscalers such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft in turning to nuclear energy to support AI-driven growth.

For Meta, the scale and duration of these agreements reflect the reality of modern data centre demand.

AI training clusters, inference workloads and high-density compute require firm, predictable power that intermittent renewables alone cannot yet provide at scale.

Extending the life of existing nuclear plants

The most immediate impact of Meta’s strategy comes through its partnership with Vistra, which focuses on extending and expanding existing nuclear generation feeding the PJM grid.

Under 20-year agreements, Meta will purchase more than 2.1GW of power from two Ohio facilities – Perry and Davis-Besse – alongside capacity expansions at both sites and a third plant at Beaver Valley in Pennsylvania. The uprates are expected to add 433MW of new capacity to the PJM region in the early 2030s.

Jim Burke, President and CEO of Vistra, says: “This agreement is beneficial in many ways – it powers American innovation and AI technology, while allowing us to extend the operational life of these plants, boost the capacity of the nuclear reactors to support the grid, protect existing jobs while creating new ones and continue investing in the communities where our plants are located.”

For data centre operators, the significance lies in the speed to impact. Extending the life of existing plants avoids long lead times associated with entirely new builds while delivering reliable baseload power into one of the most important electricity markets in the US.

Backing next-generation reactor designs

Alongside established nuclear assets, Meta is also committing capital to advanced reactor technologies that remain at an earlier stage of commercial deployment.

Its agreement with TerraPower supports the development of two Natrium reactors capable of generating up to 690MW, with delivery targeted as early as 2032.

Meta has also secured rights to energy from six additional Natrium units producing a further 2.1GW by 2035.

Together, the eight potential units would provide 2.8GW of baseload generation alongside 1.2GW of integrated energy storage, a configuration designed to offer greater flexibility for grid operators and large industrial users such as data centres.

Chris Levesque, President and CEO of TerraPower, says: “This agreement with Meta is designed to support the rapid deployment of our Natrium technology that provides the reliable, flexible and carbon-free power our country needs.”

Chris notes that TerraPower has completed its design work, established supply chains and cleared key regulatory milestones for its first Natrium plant, positioning it for deployment at scale if projects move forward as planned.

Ohio campus targets hyperscale demand

Meta’s partnership with Oklo centres on Pike County, Ohio, where an advanced nuclear campus could begin supplying power as early as 2030. The project aims to deliver up to 1.2GW of clean baseload electricity directly into the PJM market.

The site would host multiple Aurora Powerhouse reactors based on fast-reactor technology capable of using both fresh and repurposed fuel.

For data centres, this approach aligns with growing interest in smaller, modular nuclear systems that can be deployed closer to load centres.

Jacob DeWitte, Co-Founder and CEO of Oklo, says: “Meta's funding commitment in support of early procurement and development activity is a major step in moving advanced nuclear forward.”

The combined projects across Ohio and Pennsylvania are expected to create thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of permanent roles, reinforcing the link between data centre growth, energy infrastructure and regional economic development.

Powering AI-driven data centres

Meta operates several large-scale data centres in the region, including its Prometheus supercluster in New Albany, Ohio, which will draw on power from these nuclear projects.

The company has stated that it pays the full costs of its data centre energy consumption, ensuring these investments do not shift costs onto other consumers.

For Meta’s energy leadership, nuclear procurement is about more than meeting internal demand. Urvi Parekh, Director of Global Energy at Meta, says: “By investing in nuclear energy, Meta is helping to strengthen America’s energy infrastructure, drive innovation in the sector, and support the next generation of AI and digital technologies.”

As AI workloads continue to reshape data centre design and power profiles, Meta’s nuclear strategy highlights how hyperscalers are increasingly looking beyond traditional energy markets to secure long-term, resilient supply tailored to the needs of compute-intensive infrastructure.