Meta’s going “nucular,” as the Penguins of Madagascar would say.
Meta has announced a new set of partnerships that will expand the operation of three nuclear power plants in the U.S., in order to meet its growing power requirements and facilitate its development goals.
Which, primarily, means more power for AI, and more nuclear energy to power Meta’s next-level AI push.
As explained by Meta:
“At Meta, we’re focused on building personal superintelligence for everyone, and delivering the app experiences and computing devices that will improve the lives of billions of people around the world. Our industry-leading data centers are the backbone of these breakthroughs – they provide the infrastructure that drives innovation and brings transformative technologies to life. Innovation at this scale requires more electricity, and that’s where nuclear energy comes in. It provides clean, reliable, and firm electricity that helps power America’s economy and communities.”
In order to power its next-level push, Meta’s announced new deals with energy providers Oklo, TerraPower and Vistra, which will “support the next generation of American developers creating safer, advanced nuclear reactors.”
The agreements will see Meta extending power plant production in various facilities across the U.S., including the Perry and Davis-Beese plants in Ohio, and the Beaver Valley plant in Pennsylvania.
“These projects are expected to provide thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of long-term operational jobs, supporting up to 6.6 GW of new and existing clean energy by 2035. Importantly, these projects add reliable and firm power to the grid, reinforce America’s nuclear supply chain, and support new and existing jobs to build and operate American power plants.”
So, Meta AI is going nuclear, which sounds somewhat concerning, in bringing potentially smarter-than-human AIs into closer contact with anything related to nuclear energy. But Meta says that nuclear energy is a key complement to the existing power grid, which will give Meta all the power it needs without impacting general users.
Meta also recently outlined new plans and projects to help support water infrastructure as well, with Meta’s data centers requiring broad-scale access to water for cooling purposes.
The combined strain on utilities infrastructure could cause significant regional issues, but Meta believes that its evolving usage plans and investments will ensure that it can maximize development, and minimize regional disruption.
Both are major undertakings, and will significantly contribute to the American economy through more jobs and regional opportunities.
