Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, announced on Friday a series of agreements that position it as a major customer for both new and existing nuclear power in the United States, underscoring the tech industry’s growing reliance on carbon-free, large-scale electricity to meet soaring artificial intelligence (AI) computing demands.
The agreements involve backing new reactor projects with developers TerraPower and Oklo and a deal with power producer Vistra to purchase and expand the output of three existing nuclear plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the market responded quickly: Vistra and Oklo shares rose roughly 15% shortly after the opening bell, while TerraPower is privately held.
Meta aims to see its first new reactors delivered as early as 2030 and 2032, a target that executives acknowledge is ambitious even for conventional energy projects. The company’s prepayments for power from Oklo and TerraPower will help secure nuclear fuel, accelerate development, and finance the initial phases of construction. Under the Vistra deal, Meta will receive 2,176 megawatts of operating capacity from existing reactors, along with an additional 433 megawatts from output increases.
Urvi Parekh, Meta’s director of global energy, said the company is “very eyes-wide-open that the schedule is challenging, but we think it’s important to be bold.” She emphasized that timely delivery is essential to meet the urgent electricity needs of AI data centers, which now require city-size amounts of power.
The AI boom has strained electricity grids across the U.S., fueling interest in “bring your own power” solutions by tech companies seeking reliable, long-term energy supply. Meta’s investments follow a broader trend in the tech industry: Amazon’s funding of X-energy, Microsoft’s 20-year nuclear deal with Constellation Energy to restart the Three Mile Island plant, and Google’s partnership with NextEra Energy to reopen a reactor in Iowa.
Chris Levesque, CEO of TerraPower, described Meta’s support as transformative, calling it “an order for real work to begin a megaproject.” Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte echoed the sentiment, saying the funding represents “a major step in moving advanced nuclear forward,” with the first reactor campus planned on 206 acres in Pike County, Ohio.
Vistra CEO Jim Burke noted that the extensions and uprates for existing plants would not have been feasible without Meta’s backing, highlighting how private investment is reshaping the nuclear energy landscape in the U.S. Even plants once slated for closure are now securing long-term operational life thanks to corporate power-purchase agreements.
Meta’s initiatives mark a bold intersection of technology and energy, reflecting the rising demand for sustainable, reliable electricity to power next-generation AI while reinforcing the strategic role of nuclear energy in the U.S. power mix.
