Accelerating the Next Wave of Nuclear to Power AI Innovation - 2024

Nuclear Power Industry

Meta announced it will release a request for proposals (RFP) to identify nuclear energy developers to help it meet its AI innovation and sustainability objectives — targeting 1-4 gigawatts (GW) of new nuclear generation capacity in the U.S.; qualified developers can fill out the intake form to receive further guidance on the RFP process. Meta is taking an open approach with this RFP so it can partner with others across the industry to bring new nuclear energy to the grid.  

Advancing the technologies that will build the future of human connection — including the next wave of AI innovation — requires electric grids to expand and embrace new sources of reliable, clean and renewable energy. As new innovations bring impactful technological advancements across sectors and support economic growth, Meta concluded that nuclear energy can help provide firm, baseload power to support the growth needs of the electric grids that power both their data centers (the physical infrastructure on which Meta’s platforms operate) as well as the communities around them.

Supporting the development of clean energy must continue to be a priority as electric grids expand to accommodate growing energy needs. At Meta, they concluded nuclear energy will play a pivotal role in the transition to a cleaner, more reliable, and diversified electric grid. That is why today Meta announced that they will be releasing a request for proposals (RFP) to identify nuclear-energy developers to help Meta meet their AI and sustainability objectives.

Meta's aim is to add 1-4 GW of new nuclear generation capacity in the U.S. to be delivered starting in the early 2030s. Meta is looking to identify developers that can help accelerate the availability of new nuclear generators and create sufficient scale to achieve material cost reductions by deploying multiple units, both to provide for Meta’s future energy needs and to advance broader industry decarbonization.Meta concluded that working with partners who will ultimately permit, design, engineer, finance, construct, and operate these power plants will ensure the long-term thinking necessary to accelerate nuclear technology.  

When Meta began engaging with the renewable energy industry more than a decade ago, the industry was scaling. Meta's early engagement with developers of renewable energy allowed Meta to design contracts that enable both Meta and their developer partners to achieve their respective goals. Meta wants to work creatively with developers to structure an agreement that will similarly enable development of nuclear technology.

Compared to renewable energy projects that meta continues to invest in, such as solar and wind, nuclear energy projects are more capital intensive [because they are very long-term projects - built to last, like a hydro-electric dam project], take longer to develop [Same as previous], are subject to more regulatory requirements [over-regulated because of fear of radioactivity], and have a longer expected operational life [which are built that way!]. These differences mean we need to engage nuclear energy projects earlier in their development lifecycle and consider their operational requirements when designing a contract. And, as scaling deployments of nuclear technology offers the best chance of rapidly reducing cost, engaging with a partner across projects and locations will allow Meta to ensure that they can deploy strategically. An RFP process will allow Meta to approach these projects thoroughly and thoughtfully with these considerations in mind.

As Meta looks ahead to their next decade of innovation and growth, Meta is planning for their data center energy needs while simultaneously contributing to a reliable grid and advancing our sustainability commitments. Building on their efforts to bring new clean and renewable energy to the grid — including solar, wind, battery storage, and, most recently, geothermal — Meta continues to look for innovative ways to enable additional clean energy resources.

Since 2020, Meta has matched their global operations with 100% clean and renewable energy and focused on bringing new resources to the grid through innovative partnerships – totaling over 12,000 MW of renewable energy contracts worldwide to date. Going forward, this commitment is more important than ever to support their vision of operating sustainably. As the industry continues to grow, Meta is committed to working across the industry to advance their sustainability commitments and transform the grid of the future.