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Technology companies are pursuing nuclear power because data centers need large amounts of electricity around the clock, while nuclear plants can generate continuously without directly emitting carbon dioxide during operation. But the headline figures in these agreements do not all mean the same thing: some refer to electricity from an operating plant, others to a planned restart or reactors that have yet to be built. None of the announcements alone proves that future power is already being delivered.
Why nuclear power appeals to data-center operators
Data centers need steady electricity to run servers, cooling systems and other infrastructure. That demand is growing alongside the expansion of cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Nuclear plants typically operate continuously, have large generating units and produce electricity without direct carbon dioxide emissions during generation. Those characteristics make nuclear a potential source of firm, low-carbon electricity for companies trying to match their energy use with carbon-free supply.
There is a trade-off: nuclear plants are not designed to quickly ramp output up and down to track variable demand. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) noted in its October 1, 2024 analysis that data centers need electricity at all hours, while nuclear plants generally run continuously and can have difficulty changing output to follow demand. Nuclear therefore can provide steady generation, but it is not a perfect real-time dial for a data center’s changing load.
The announcements also use different measures. A megawatt (MW) is a measure of power capacity; a megawatt-hour (MWh) measures energy generated or consumed over time. A contracted MW figure may describe the maximum capacity available, not the electricity a customer will actually use. EIA cautions that data-center capacity requests often do not obligate the owner to use the full amount. The size of a contract, the amount of electricity delivered and a company’s total energy consumption are not interchangeable.
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How the major nuclear agreements differ
The deals span three distinct stages: buying power from an operating plant, contracting around a planned plant restart, and supporting reactors still in development. Their capacities and timelines should be read in that context.
| Company and partner | Plant status and arrangement | Announced quantity and timing |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft and Constellation | Planned restart of Three Mile Island Unit 1 in Pennsylvania, to be renamed Crane Clean Energy Center. The PPA is intended to support the restart and add electricity to the PJM grid. | Constellation described a 20-year agreement for the 835 MW facility. The announcement does not mean the reactor has restarted. |
| Amazon and Talen Energy | Contracted supply from the operating Susquehanna nuclear station, available to an adjacent AWS campus and other Pennsylvania sites. | Talen’s June 11, 2025 SEC-filed announcement describes up to 1,920 MW at full contract quantity through 2042, with full volume expected no later than 2032. |
| Google, Kairos Power and TVA | Planned advanced reactors. For the first named project, TVA—not Google—will purchase electricity from Hermes 2 for its grid. | Google’s 2024 agreement covers up to 500 MW from multiple Kairos reactors, with the first targeted for 2030 and additional deployments through 2035. Google’s 2025 announcement says Hermes 2 is scheduled to begin operating in 2030 and deliver 50 MW to TVA’s grid. |
| Meta and Vistra, TerraPower and Oklo | A combination of support for existing plants and agreements tied to future reactor development. | Meta says the agreements could support up to 6.6 GW of new and existing clean energy by 2035. The figure is an announced expectation, not current delivered electricity. |
These figures come from company announcements and, for the expanded Amazon agreement, Talen’s SEC filing. They are not a uniform measure of energy delivered: the sources describe different contract quantities, plant stages and time horizons.
Microsoft and Constellation: a planned restart at Three Mile Island
Microsoft announced a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Constellation in September 2024 intended to enable the restart of Three Mile Island Unit 1 in Pennsylvania. The 835 MW reactor was retired in 2019. Constellation said the 20-year agreement would support restarting the facility under the name Crane Clean Energy Center, with Microsoft buying its electricity as part of the company’s effort to match data-center power use in PJM with carbon-free energy. Microsoft and Constellation described the project as adding net-new electricity to the PJM grid.
This is a restart plan, not evidence that the reactor is operating again. Constellation CEO Joe Dominguez argued in the company’s September 20, 2024 announcement that nuclear plants can consistently provide carbon-free, reliable energy. That is the company executive’s rationale for the deal, not an independent finding about every source of electricity or every project.
Amazon and Talen: power from Susquehanna, plus an expanded contract
Amazon’s agreement with Talen concerns Susquehanna, an operating nuclear station in Pennsylvania. Talen’s June 11, 2025 SEC-filed announcement says the expanded PPA will provide Amazon with up to 1,920 MW at full contract quantity through 2042, subject to extension options. The companies expected the contracted volume to ramp to full quantity no later than 2032, with possible acceleration. The electricity can serve AWS operations at the data-center campus next to the plant and other Amazon sites in Pennsylvania.
The current expanded terms should not be confused with the earlier deal covered in EIA’s October 1, 2024 analysis. That analysis described an agreement at 960 MW, with AWS able to increase its share in 120 MW increments and an option to cap its commitment at 480 MW. Talen’s later announcement describes the expanded agreement and its different maximum quantity.
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Talen also said the companies would explore small modular reactors (SMRs) within its Pennsylvania footprint and potential plant uprates. Those are exploratory possibilities in the announcement, not projects established as built or operating. Talen CEO Mac McFarland said the agreement was designed to provide a long-term, steady revenue source and greater balance-sheet flexibility through contracted revenues—Talen’s stated business rationale.
Google, Kairos Power and TVA: reactors still in development
Google’s October 14, 2024 announcement described an agreement for up to 500 MW from multiple Kairos Power small modular reactors. It targeted the first reactor for 2030 and additional deployments through 2035. Google described Kairos’s design as using molten-salt cooling and ceramic pebble-type fuel, with iterative demonstration steps before a commercial plant. These are company and vendor descriptions; the announcement is not independent evidence of commercial performance or completed construction.
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Google’s August 18, 2025 announcement named the first project: Kairos’s planned Hermes 2 plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. TVA is to purchase its electricity for TVA’s grid, which serves Google data centers in Tennessee and Alabama; Google said the plant is scheduled to begin operation in 2030 and deliver 50 MW. As described, this is grid supply and procurement of clean-energy attributes, not a private power line running directly from the reactor to Google’s data centers.
In that announcement, TVA CEO Don Moul said Google was helping shoulder the cost and risk of first-of-a-kind nuclear projects, reducing the need to burden TVA customers with developing the technology. This describes TVA’s view of the arrangement, not a guarantee about future costs or project delivery.
An SMR is a small modular reactor: a reactor designed at a smaller scale than conventional large nuclear units, with the possibility of modular construction. The label alone does not establish that a specific design is licensed, financed, built or producing commercial power. Google’s announced target dates are future milestones, not evidence that Kairos reactors are already supplying electricity.
Meta’s mix of existing plants and future reactors
In January 2026, Meta announced agreements with Vistra, TerraPower and Oklo that it said could support up to 6.6 GW of new and existing clean energy by 2035. The total combines different types of support and future development; it should not be read as 6.6 GW of power already flowing to Meta.
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- Vistra: Meta says its partnership supports continued operation and increased production at the Perry and Davis-Besse plants in Ohio and Beaver Valley in Pennsylvania. Grid power from the plants is intended to support Meta operations, including the Prometheus supercluster in New Albany, Ohio.
- TerraPower: Meta says its agreement supports two planned Natrium units capable of generating up to 690 MW, with delivery as early as 2032. It also says it has energy rights for up to six additional units totaling 2.1 GW, targeted for 2035.
- Oklo: Meta describes the agreement as a foundation for constructing multiple Aurora Powerhouse reactors; the announcement does not establish that those reactors are built or operating.
Meta Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan characterized the company as one of the most significant corporate purchasers of nuclear energy in American history. That is Meta’s description of its position, not an independently verified ranking.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Amazon’s separate investment in future nuclear projects
Amazon’s December 2, 2024 overview describes its investment in X-energy as intended to advance more than 5 GW of new nuclear energy projects over 15 years. The overview also discusses a Washington SMR project and the data-center campus adjacent to Susquehanna. The 5 GW figure is Amazon’s stated goal for projects its investment is intended to advance; it is not a measure of electricity currently generated or delivered to AWS.
Will these deals add new electricity to the grid?
Some announcements explicitly describe plans to add generation: Microsoft and Constellation say the Crane restart would add net-new electricity to PJM, while Google’s planned Hermes 2 is described as supplying 50 MW to TVA’s grid. Amazon’s expanded agreement is based on an operating station, and Meta’s total includes support for existing plants as well as future projects. The details therefore matter more than the fact that each announcement mentions nuclear power.
A PPA is a commercial agreement to buy electricity or its associated attributes; it does not by itself require the generator and data center to be next door or to produce and consume electricity at precisely the same moment. EIA notes that direct connection is one possible arrangement, but it is not inherent in every PPA. Even when generation is contracted, the grid must still balance supply and demand across locations and times.
For readers concerned about local electricity bills or reliability, the announcements alone do not establish the effect on a particular utility customer. Outcomes depend on where a data center connects, how the generator connects, the timing and amount of generation and consumption, and the grid arrangements. The company announcements describe intended commercial structures; they do not provide a complete accounting of local rates or all grid costs.
What the announcements establish—and what they do not
- They establish the companies’ announced plans and contractual intentions. A PPA, investment or energy-rights agreement is meaningful, but it is not the same milestone as licensing, construction, restart or commercial operation.
- They do not show how much of AI’s total electricity demand nuclear will meet. The sources cited here do not provide one independently published statistic for that share, and the announced MW figures cannot be used to calculate it without comparable consumption and delivery data.
- The scheduled dates for new reactors are targets. Google’s first Kairos deployments, Meta’s Natrium units and Amazon-backed projects remain future-oriented in the announcements summarized here.
- The deal structures distribute responsibilities differently. A restart agreement, supply from an operating plant, a grid procurement arrangement and a new-reactor development partnership do not carry the same construction, operating or grid-integration steps.
The most current corporate announcement covered here is Meta’s January 2026 package. These company and agency sources do not constitute a comprehensive independent audit of project status as of October 8, 2026.
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