Meta has officially confirmed its ambitious plans to harness nuclear power to fuel its data centers across the United States. The company announced that it is now accepting proposals from nuclear energy developers, aiming to add between one and four gigawatts of nuclear energy capacity starting in the early 2030s.
In its request for proposals, Meta specified that it is seeking partners with expertise in either Small Modular Reactors (SMR) or larger nuclear reactors. According to Axios, Meta is “geographically agnostic” regarding the location of potential nuclear sites, indicating flexibility in where these projects could be developed. Earlier this year, The Financial Times reported that Meta had plans to build a nuclear-powered data center, but those plans were halted after the discovery of a rare species of bees near the proposed site.
Meta emphasized the importance of nuclear energy in a statement, saying;
As new innovations bring impactful technological advancements across sectors and support economic growth, we believe that nuclear energy can help provide firm, baseload power to support the growth needs of the electric grids that power both our data centers (the physical infrastructure on which Meta’s platforms operate) as well as the communities around them.
Meta is not alone in its pursuit of nuclear power to support its technological advancements. Google recently announced a deal to construct multiple reactors in the US, with the objective of adding 500 megawatts of nuclear power from SMRs.
Similarly, Microsoft revealed plans earlier this year to revive the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania to fuel its AI development. These moves by major tech companies highlight a growing trend towards utilizing nuclear energy as a reliable and sustainable power source to meet the increasing energy demands of data centers and AI technologies.
