Negotiations underway with Constellation Energy, US's largest nuclear operator

Deal could be announced as early as this week

Amazon, Microsoft also racing to lock up nuclear power

Round-the-clock supply makes nuclear attractive for AI workloads

The Google logo. [Reuters]
The Google logo. [Reuters]

The race among US tech giants to secure nuclear power for AI data centers is intensifying. Alphabet, Google's parent company, is close to signing a roughly $1 billion (1.34 trillion won) power purchase agreement with Constellation Energy, the largest nuclear power operator in the United States.

Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing multiple sources, that Alphabet and Constellation Energy are nearing a deal and that an official announcement could come as early as this week.

The specific volume of power to be supplied and which nuclear plant would generate it for Google have not been disclosed. Google and Constellation Energy both declined to comment.

If finalized, the deal would mark another sign that the AI race is spreading beyond semiconductors and data centers into a broader competition to secure stable, long-term power supplies.

As big tech companies build out massive data centers to develop and expand generative AI services, their power consumption is rising rapidly. AI data centers in particular require servers to run around the clock, making a reliable power supply critical.

That has renewed interest in nuclear energy. Unlike solar and wind power, nuclear plants are unaffected by weather and can deliver electricity 24 hours a day — and they produce almost no carbon emissions in the process.

Google is not alone. Amazon and Microsoft have also moved to lock up nuclear-generated power ahead of their rivals.

Amazon recently signed a deal with Constellation Energy to purchase a total of 690 MW of power, including additional output from upgrades to the Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant in Maryland.

Microsoft has gone a step further, working to revive shuttered plants. In 2024, Microsoft signed an agreement with Constellation Energy to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania and purchase its output under a long-term contract.

Google has also been accelerating its nuclear push. Last year, it signed a power purchase agreement with NextEra Energy to support the restart of the Duane Arnold reactor in Iowa, which was shut down in 2020. Last month, it agreed to fund capacity expansions at two nuclear plants operated by Southern Company in exchange for the additional power generated.

With Google now pursuing a large-scale deal with Constellation Energy, the country's biggest nuclear operator, AI industry growth is cementing itself as a new source of demand for US nuclear power. As competition among AI models intensifies, securing stable electricity to run data centers — earlier and in greater volume than rivals — is emerging as a new front in the big tech rivalry.


sjy@heraldcorp.com