In the past two years, Facebook's parent company Meta (META.US) has invested heavily in AI infrastructure. Recently, it signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Constellation Energy (CEG.US), stipulating that the Clinton Clean Energy Center will supply electricity to Meta.
Interestingly, the Clinton Clean Energy Center was once one of the best-performing nuclear power plants in Illinois, but after years of financial losses, it was scheduled to close early in 2017. However, it was saved by the Future Energy Jobs Act, which established a Zero Emission Credit (ZEC) program to provide financial support to the plant until mid-2027.
This time, Meta has taken on the role of a &#34;white knight&#34; by signing a 20-year power supply agreement with Constellation Energy, essentially replacing the ZEC program. Through this electricity purchase, it ensures the plant's entry into the market without needing government financial support for operations.
However, this power purchase agreement does not mean that the Clinton Clean Energy Center will directly supply power to Meta's data centers. Instead, the clean energy center will continue to supply electricity to the local grid, and starting in June 2027, Meta will purchase approximately 1.1 gigawatts of energy from the clean energy center, equivalent to the total output of one nuclear reactor at the facility.
According to the agreement, the Clinton nuclear power plant will increase its installed capacity by 30 megawatts through nuclear upgrades, enabling it to inject more new energy into the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) Region 4 grid, covering central and southern Illinois.
Constellation Energy stated that it is evaluating strategies to extend the existing early site permit for the plant or apply for new construction permits from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to advance the development of advanced reactors or small modular reactors (SMRs) at the Clinton Clean Energy Center site.
Meta's role as a white knight seems to have saved the Clinton Clean Energy Center from imminent closure, but it is also a strategic move for itself. Meta is investing heavily in building data centers, which will become a crucial infrastructure for its AI competition in the next decade. However, the massive computing power required for AI consumes a significant amount of energy, necessitating sustainable energy support. By signing a power supply agreement with the nuclear power company, Meta aims to ensure a stable energy supply in the region for the next 20 years to support the ongoing development of AI.
Several tech giants are also laying out energy strategies
In addition to Meta's collaboration with Constellation Energy, several tech giants are paving the way for their AI development through diversified energy strategies:
Microsoft (MSFT.US) has been active in the nuclear energy sector. In 2023, it signed an agreement with Helion Energy, a nuclear fusion startup supported by OpenAI founder Sam Altman, planning to purchase 50 megawatts of power starting in 2028. In September 2024, Microsoft reached an agreement with Constellation Energy to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, which experienced the most severe nuclear accident in U.S. history, and signed a 20-year power purchase agreement to support the operation of Microsoft’s data centers
In addition, Microsoft is also hiring a Director of Nuclear Technology to explore the application of Small Modular Reactors (SMR).
Google (GOOG.US) announced in October 2024 a partnership with the SMR startup Kairos Power to fund the development of seven SMRs aimed at providing stable power for its data centers. Prior to this, Google had invested in the nuclear fusion company TAE Technologies and participated in its industry initiative to triple global nuclear energy capacity.
Larry Ellison, Chairman of Oracle (ORCL.US), announced plans to deploy three small nuclear reactors at a new data center, with a total power supply capacity exceeding 1 gigawatt to meet AI computing demands. The project has selected a site and obtained permits, becoming the first nuclear power project in the United States explicitly targeting AI.
Amazon (AMZN.US) acquired a data center campus powered by the Susquehanna nuclear power plant from Talen Energy in 2024 and invested $500 million to develop SMRs.
Tech giants aiming to win in the AI competition have long regarded energy as a crucial foundational force supporting their AI development. Not only in nuclear energy, but they also have arrangements in other new energy fields and participate in the effective utilization of energy in various ways.
For example, Microsoft signed the largest corporate hotel agreement with Brookfield Asset Management last May, investing over $10 billion to develop 10.5 gigawatts of renewable energy, focusing on wind and solar energy, and exploring new carbon-free technologies.
Google signed a 60-megawatt solar power purchase agreement in Japan.
In terms of effective energy utilization, these tech giants have also made arrangements.
Tesla (TSLA.US) is vigorously developing its energy storage business, with its Shanghai energy storage super factory having commenced production in February this year, planning to produce 10,000 Megapack energy storage systems annually, with a total storage capacity of nearly 40 gigawatt-hours, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 13,000 households.
Suppliers of core components for AI development, such as NVIDIA (NVDA.US), AMD (AMD.US), and Intel (INTC.US), are enhancing the energy efficiency of their products by continuously improving the power consumption and performance of their AI chips. For example, NVIDIA's Blackwell GPU has improved energy efficiency by 25 times compared to its predecessor, reducing AI computing energy consumption at the hardware level.
Conclusion
From Meta transforming into a &#34;white knight&#34; to save nuclear power plants, to various tech giants diversifying their layouts in nuclear energy, renewable energy, energy storage technology, and chip energy efficiency, it is not difficult to see: the underlying logic of the AI revolution has already extended from simple algorithm competition to a full-chain infrastructure battle of &#34;energy - computing power.&#34;
Whoever masters clean, stable, and low-cost energy will gain an advantage in large model training, computing power competition, and ecosystem building. Meta's &#34;white knight&#34; story is just one reflection of the industry; the entire tech industry’s transformation towards &#34;energy infrastructure&#34; may become inevitable

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Meta transforms into a white knight, what is the intention behind it?