Google enters massive 3.6-GW power deal with Constellation Energy

Google has contracted for 3,590 megawatts of power from Constellation Energy in the US' largest power grid, with new nuclear energy accounting for about ​a quarter of that supply, the companies said on Tuesday. The deal will enable ‌more than $4.3 billion of new investment by Constellation and involves adding capacity at several of the power company's nuclear reactors in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, the companies said. Major tech companies are racing to ​secure massive amounts of electricity supplies to power data centers across the US by ​striking unprecedented deals with the country's power companies. Over the last two years, ⁠Constellation unveiled an agreement to restart its Three Mile Island reactor in Pennsylvania to ​serve Microsoft data centers, while Google contracted to restart NextEra Energy's nuclear power plant in Iowa. In ​the latest arrangement, Google entered into a 20-year power purchase agreement for 890 megawatts of electricity from multiple Constellation-owned nuclear power plants, which would be upgraded to produce more electricity from existing reactors. Read More: Instagram turns 16 with 3 billion users under shadow of data privacy, mental health concerns Electricity from the ​first of the upgraded plants is expected to be delivered in 2028, the companies ​said. Google also entered into a long-term supply agreement for an additional 2,700 megawatts of power from Constellation in ‌PJM. ⁠That power is not tied to a specific generation source and serves as long-term revenue certainty for Constellation's operating plants, Google said. Maryland-based Constellation is the largest US nuclear power plant operator and owns a major fleet of natural-gas-fired power plants. "We’re committed to meeting our growth responsibly ​by actively investing in ​clean, reliable power ⁠that brings new capacity to our nation's grids," said Amanda Peterson Corio, Google's global head of energy and power, in a statement. The 11 ​nuclear units expected to be upgraded as part of the arrangement ​with Google ⁠are in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, within the footprint of the largest US electric grid - PJM Interconnection. PJM management has proposed requiring data center customers connected to the 13-state grid to either ⁠bring ​their own power or face being shut off from ​grid power remotely in times of peak demand. The deal between Google and Constellation is in response to PJM's "bring your ​own power" proposal, the companies said.