Meta announces 'landmark' agreements for new nuclear

The agreements follow a request for proposals issued by Meta in December 2024. They are:

• Vistra Corp: 20-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 2,176 MW of nuclear energy and capacity from the operating Perry and Davis-Besse plants in Ohio; plus the purchase of energy from uprates at those two plants and the Beaver Valley plant in Pennsylvania

• TerraPower: funding to support the development of up to eight Natrium sodium fast reactors - two new units capable of generating up to 690 MW of firm power with delivery as early as 2032, plus the rights for energy from up to six other Natrium units capable of producing 2.1 GW and targeted for delivery by 2035.

• Oklo Inc: support for a project to develop a 1.2 GW power campus in Pike County, Ohio, with Meta to prepay for power and provide funding to advance project certainty for Oklo's Aurora powerhouse deployment.

These projects will deliver power to the grids that support Meta's operations, including its Prometheus supercluster in New Albany, Ohio, Meta said.

"State-of-the-art data centres and AI infrastructure are essential to securing America's position as a global leader in AI," said Meta Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan.

"Nuclear energy will help power our AI future, strengthen our country's energy infrastructure, and provide clean, reliable electricity for everyone. These projects are going to create thousands of skilled jobs in Ohio and Pennsylvania, add new energy to the grid, extend the life of three existing nuclear plants, and accelerate new reactor technologies."

Purchasing power

The Perry, Davis-Besse, and Beaver Valley plants had been "on a path to retirement" as recently as 2020, Vistra Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer Stacey Doré said. Vistra acquired the plants in 2023. "Fast-forward to today and we're investing in expanding these same plants, and thanks to our dedicated employees and a committed partner like Meta, this fleet will continue to provide reliable, carbon-free energy to power the grid of the future," Doré said.

Meta's purchases under the agreements will begin in late 2026, with additional capacity added to the grid through to 2034, when the full 2,609 MW of power will be online.

Each of the three plants has received an initial licence renewal from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, clearing them to operate for a further 20 years beyond their initial 40-year licensing term. The power purchase agreements provide certainty for Vistra to pursue subsequent licence renewal for each of the reactors, which would extend each licence an additional 20 years, the company said. Beaver Valley 1 is currently licenced until 2036; Davis-Besse to 2037; Perry to 2046; and Beaver Valley 2 to 2047.

Vistra President and CEO Jim Burke said the "unique and exciting collaboration" will ensure the continued safe and reliable operation of the plants for "decades to come" while providing a "competitive solution" to support sustainable operations. "Importantly, this commitment from Meta provides Vistra the certainty needed to invest in these plants and communities and bring new nuclear generation online for the grid - through uprates at our existing plants."

The long-term operation of Constellation Energy's Clinton Clean Energy Center - another plant previously slated for premature closure for economic reasons until the state of Illinois enacted legislation recognising its clean energy credentials - was secured by a 20-year power purchase agreement announced in June 2025.

New generation

As the demand for reliable, scalable, and clean energy continues to rise, advanced nuclear technology has the potential to become a key part of the solution, and the latest generation of advanced nuclear reactors are ideal for supporting the USA's evolving power needs, Meta said.

The agreements with Oklo and TerraPower will help advance this next generation of energy technology, as well as providing greater business certainty, so they can raise capital to move forward with these projects, and ultimately add more energy capacity to the grid, Meta said.

TerraPower began non-nuclear construction for its first Natrium plant, in Wyoming, in June 2024, and expects construction of the plant - which it says will be the first commercial-scale, advanced nuclear project in the USA - to be complete in 2030. The first Natrium project is being developed through the US Department of Energy's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. The Natrium reactor is a TerraPower and GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy technology.

Meta's agreement with TerraPower supports the early development activities for two new Natrium units with rights for energy provided to Meta for up to six additional Natrium units. Covering up to 2.8 GW of baseload energy generation capacity and an additional 1.2 GW of built-in storage, Meta said this is its largest support of advanced nuclear technologies to date.

The agreement with Meta is designed to support the rapid deployment of the Natrium technology, TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque said. "With our first Natrium plant under development, we have completed our design, established our supply chain, and cleared key regulatory milestones. These successes mean our TerraPower team is well-positioned to deliver on this historic multi-unit delivery agreement."

Ohio campus

Oklo's sodium-cooled Aurora powerhouse is a fast-neutron reactor that uses heat pipes to transport heat from the reactor core to a supercritical carbon dioxide power conversion system to generate electricity. Meta's agreement with the company will advance the development of an entirely new advanced nuclear technology campus in Pike County, Ohio, which may come online as early as 2030.

"Two years ago, Oklo shared its vision to build a new generation of advanced reactors in Ohio. Today, that vision is becoming a reality. We have finalised the purchase of over 200 acres in Pike County and are excited to announce this agreement in support of a multi-year effort with Meta to deliver clean energy and create long-term, high-quality jobs in Ohio," Oklo's co-founder and CEO Jacob DeWitte said. "Meta's funding commitment in support of early procurement and development activity is a major step in moving advanced nuclear forward."

Pre-construction and site characterisation are scheduled to begin in 2026, with the first phase targeted to come online as early as 2030, Oklo said. The plans for the scalable powerhouse facility are expected to expand incrementally to deliver up to the full target of 1.2 GW by 2034.

"For more than a decade, we've worked with innovative partners to back clean energy projects that support the grid - adding nearly 28 GW of new energy to grids across 27 states. We're proud to include Oklo, TerraPower, and Vistra on that list and support their work to boost America's energy leadership," Meta said.