Meta Symbols works with three nuclear companies of 6-plus GW of electricity

Meta today announced three contracts to supply its data centers with nuclear power: one from a startup, one from a small power company, and one from a large company that operates several nuclear facilities in the US.

Ok no and TerraPowertwo industrial modular reactors (SMR)each signed contracts with Meta to build multiple reactors, while Vistra is selling power from its existing reactors.

Nuclear power has become a preferred power source for tech companies as their AI ambitions have grown, providing 24/7 stable electricity. Existing initiators and reactors have benefited from competition for data center power, albeit in different ways.

Existing reactors tend to be very cheap, but there are too many to go around, which has pushed Meta and his colleagues to SMR startups. Companies like Oklo and TerraPower are betting that by building smaller reactors, they can lower the cost of producing more. It’s a sound idea, even one that hasn’t been tested yet. The Meta Agreement can give SMR founders a chance to prove themselves.

The action is the result of a a request for proposals that Meta issued in December 2024, when Meta sought partners who could add between 1 and 4 gigawatts of generating capacity by the early 2030s. Most of the new power will go through the PJM interconnection, a grid that includes 13 Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern states and is already full of data centers.

The 20-year agreement with Vistra will have an immediate impact on Meta’s energy needs. The technology company will buy 2.1 gigawatts from two existing plants, Perry and Davis-Besse in Ohio.

As part of the agreement, Vistra will also add capacity to the power plant and its power plant in Beaver Valley in Pennsylvania. Together, these upgrades will generate an additional 433 MW and are expected to come online in the early 2030s.

Meta is also buying 1.2 gigawatts from junior operator Oklo. Under its agreement with Meta, Oklo hopes to start supplying power to the group in early 2030. The SMR company it went public through a SPAC in 2023, and when Oklo arrived data center operator Switchhas struggled to get its nuclear design approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

If Oklo can deliver on time, the new facility will be built in Pike County, Ohio. Each primary Aurora Powerhouse produces 75 megawatts of electricity, and more than a dozen will need to be built to complete the Meta plan.

TerraPower is a startup founded by Bill Gates, and its goal is to start sending electricity to Meta in early 2032. It has developed a reactor that uses molten sodium to transfer energy from the reactor to the generator. When demand is low, superheated salt can be stored in a closed storage tank until additional power is needed. The reactor can produce 345 megawatts of electricity, while the storage system can provide another 100 to 500 megawatts for more than five hours.

The company has successfully navigated the NRC process, and is working with GE Hitachi to build its first power plant in Wyoming. Its first two Meta reactors can produce 690 megawatts, and Meta said it has the right to buy six more units at a rate of 2.8 megawatts of nuclear power and 1.2 gigawatts of storage.

Meta did not disclose the financial details of the deal.

Buying electricity from Vistra is very affordable – pre-engineered nuclear power is some of the cheapest in the range.

The prices of SMRs are not fixed yet. Several startups have low-cost goals: TerraPower says it can deliver $50 to $60 per megawatt hourwhen Oklo said he wanted to $80 to $130 per megawatt hour. The figures are for early stage power plants – early models can be expensive.