Google has announced a new deal to upgrade six nuclear power plant sites in the United States, as the tech giant seeks to generate more electricity for its energy-hungry data centers.
Google has signed a 20-year agreement with Constellation, the largest operator of nuclear power plants in the United States. The power purchase agreement aims to secure the revenue needed to cover the cost of efficiency improvements at existing nuclear power plants and “represents more than $4.3 billion in new investments by Constellation,” according to the press release.
Over the next five years, the companies expect new equipment at each site to collectively lead to 890 megawatts of additional nuclear capacity. That’s roughly equivalent to the amount of electricity that one large new nuclear reactor or three small modular reactors could produce, according to Google and Constellation.
PJM has struggled lately to keep up with growing AI data center demand
PJM has struggled lately to keep up with the growing demand for AI data centers. An independent market monitor filed a complaint last year with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), saying PJM was considering allowing massive data centers to connect to the grid that it could not reliably serve, potentially leading to power outages.
Along with the nuclear power deal, Google also signed a separate, much larger, 15-year power supply agreement with Constellation, intended to ensure continued revenue from other existing power plants. Constellation operates within PJM, regardless of fuel type. Last year, nuclear power accounted for 70 percent of Constellation’s total generating capacity, and another 8 percent came from renewable energy. Gas and oil accounted for the remaining 22 percent, according to the company’s latest sustainability report. Gas also represents the largest share of PJM’s energy mix. At 2,700 MW, the second agreement is much larger than the nuclear power purchase agreement.
Data centers are driving a surge in new gas infrastructure projects in the United States, pushing many technology companies further away from their sustainability goals. Google’s carbon emissions increased by 18 percent last year, alongside a 37 percent increase in electricity demand, according to the company’s latest sustainability report.
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