Meta Secures 6.6 GW of Nuclear Power in Landmark Deals with TerraPower, Oklo, and Vistra

The artificial intelligence revolution has an insatiable appetite for electricity, threatening to derail the ambitious climate goals of the world's largest technology companies. As Meta builds out its massive "Prometheus" AI supercluster in New Albany, Ohio—a facility expected to consume a full gigawatt of power on its own—the company faces a stark mathematical reality. Traditional renewable energy sources like wind and solar, while crucial, are inherently intermittent. They cannot independently provide the 24/7, unwavering baseload power required to keep tens of thousands of specialized AI processors running without interruption.[1][3]

To bridge this gap, Meta has orchestrated a historic pivot toward atomic energy. In a sweeping series of agreements announced in early 2026, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram committed to procuring up to 6.6 gigawatts of nuclear power by 2035. The portfolio of deals, which spans next-generation reactor startups and established utility giants, represents enough electricity to power roughly five million American homes.[2][4]

The sheer scale of the procurement fundamentally alters the energy landscape. By securing power from TerraPower, Oklo, and Vistra, Meta has instantly positioned itself as one of the most significant corporate purchasers of nuclear energy in United States history. The strategy moves beyond merely buying electricity off the grid; it involves directly bankrolling the commercialization of advanced nuclear technologies that have spent decades confined to laboratories and pilot programs.[1][5][6]

The centerpiece of Meta's nuclear strategy is a sprawling partnership with TerraPower, the nuclear innovation company founded by Bill Gates. Under the agreement, Meta will provide critical early funding to support the deployment of up to eight "Natrium" reactor plants across the United States. This fleet is designed to provide Meta with 2.8 gigawatts of continuous, carbon-free baseload energy, with the first units targeted for delivery as early as 2032.[6][7]

TerraPower's Natrium technology represents a radical departure from the conventional light-water reactors that currently dominate the global nuclear fleet. Instead of using water as a coolant, the Natrium design is a sodium-cooled fast reactor. Liquid sodium has a much higher boiling point than water, allowing the reactor to operate at higher temperatures and near-atmospheric pressure. This fundamental design shift eliminates the need for the massive, heavily pressurized containment domes that make traditional nuclear plants so expensive and complex to build.[8]

But the true breakthrough of the Natrium system—and the feature that makes it uniquely suited for the modern, renewable-heavy grid—is its integrated energy storage. Each 345-megawatt reactor is paired with a patented molten salt-based energy storage system. As the reactor generates heat, it can either be used immediately to spin a turbine and generate electricity, or it can be stored in massive tanks of molten salt for later use.[8][9]

This thermal battery allows the plant to decouple its nuclear core from its electrical output. During periods of peak demand, or when wind and solar generation drops off, the Natrium plant can draw on its stored thermal energy to boost its electrical output to 500 megawatts for more than five hours. For Meta, this means the TerraPower fleet could theoretically flex up to 4 gigawatts of total peak power, providing the ultimate grid stabilizer.[6][8]

While TerraPower focuses on utility-scale sodium reactors, Meta is also betting on a different flavor of advanced nuclear technology through a partnership with Oklo. Backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Oklo specializes in fast microreactors. Meta's agreement will help Oklo develop a 1.2-gigawatt power campus in Pike County, Ohio, specifically tailored to support the heavy concentration of data centers in the region. Oklo aims to bring its first units online by 2030, offering a faster, more modular deployment timeline.[3][5]

However, next-generation reactors are still years away from commercial operation, and Meta's AI infrastructure needs power today. To address immediate demands, the third pillar of Meta's strategy relies on maximizing the output of America's existing nuclear fleet. Through a 20-year power purchase agreement with Vistra, Meta has secured more than 2.6 gigawatts of zero-carbon energy from three operating nuclear plants: Davis-Besse and Perry in Ohio, and Beaver Valley in Pennsylvania.[1][2]

The Vistra deal is notable not just for its size, but for its mechanism. It includes 433 megawatts of new capacity generated entirely through "uprates." An uprate involves upgrading the physical components of an existing nuclear plant—such as installing more efficient high-pressure turbines, larger transformers, or enhanced cooling systems—allowing the facility to safely generate more electricity than its original design specified. This represents the largest corporate-supported nuclear uprate in U.S. history.[1][2]

All of this new and expanded capacity will feed into the PJM Interconnection, the massive regional transmission organization that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity across 13 mid-Atlantic and Midwestern states. The PJM grid has been under severe strain from the explosive growth of data centers, prompting warnings from grid operators about looming capacity shortfalls. By bringing firm, dispatchable power to the exact region where its AI clusters are located, Meta is attempting to grow its infrastructure without destabilizing the local grid or driving up costs for residential ratepayers.[3][5]

The momentum behind advanced nuclear is no longer purely theoretical. In March 2026, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a construction permit for TerraPower's first Natrium plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming. This marked a watershed regulatory moment: it was the first construction permit issued by the NRC for a commercial non-light-water power reactor in more than 40 years.[8]

Following the regulatory green light, TerraPower officially broke ground on the Kemmerer facility in April 2026. The project, built near a retiring coal plant, is mobilizing a workforce of roughly 1,600 people and serves as the commercial blueprint for the fleet Meta intends to help fund. Seeing actual steel go into the ground has bolstered confidence among tech giants that advanced nuclear can be delivered on a predictable timeline.[9]

For Meta, the nuclear pivot is driven by uncompromising climate math. The company has pledged to reach net-zero emissions across its entire value chain by 2030. Yet, the computational intensity of training large language models has pushed that goal further out of reach; Meta's own sustainability reports revealed a 24% year-over-year increase in data center emissions in 2024. Nuclear energy emerged as the only technology capable of providing zero-carbon baseload power at the gigawatt scale required to reverse that trend.[1]

Despite the historic nature of these agreements, significant uncertainties remain. The nuclear industry is notorious for staggering cost overruns and decade-long delays. Delivering first-of-a-kind commercial reactors by 2030 and 2032 requires Oklo and TerraPower to execute complex construction projects and navigate uncharted regulatory pathways flawlessly. Supply chain bottlenecks for specialized components, such as high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel, could also threaten these aggressive timelines.[3][8]

Furthermore, the financial structures of these deals remain closely guarded. While Meta has committed to providing early funding and long-term power purchase agreements, the exact capital exposure the company is taking on to backstop these multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects is unknown. If the advanced reactors face severe delays, Meta may be forced to rely heavily on natural gas to power its AI ambitions in the interim.[3][4]

Nevertheless, Meta's comprehensive 6.6-gigawatt portfolio marks a paradigm shift in corporate energy procurement. Technology companies are no longer passive consumers waiting for utilities to green the grid. By simultaneously funding next-generation sodium reactors, modular microreactors, and the expansion of legacy plants, the tech industry is directly underwriting the long-awaited renaissance of American nuclear power.[1][6]