Tech companies lead the way with new nuclear contracts

Meta recently announced that it will be extending and expanding the operation of three nuclear power plants. The new deals with suppliers Vistra, TerraPower, and Oklo make Meta one of the most significant corporate purchasers of nuclear energy in American history.

Meta Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan said, "Nuclear energy will help power our AI future, strengthen our country's energy infrastructure, and provide clean, reliable electricity for everyone. These projects are going to create thousands of skilled jobs in Ohio and Pennsylvania, add new energy to the grid, extend the life of three existing nuclear plants, and accelerate new reactor technologies."

In the last two years, Meta has shown its commitment to a nuclear future. In December of 2024, Meta released a request for proposals (RFP) to identify nuclear energy developers in order to power their AI projects while valuing sustainability. In March of 2025, Meta, along with Google and Amazon, pledged to triple nuclear power by 2030. Now with Meta, the contracts have been finalized.

Our region is incredibly familiar with the companies that are involved in this expansion. Oklo just broke ground in September of 2025 to create its Aurora reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory in Twin Falls. It is a 75Mwe liquid metal-cooled fast reactor. Terrapower’s first reactor started construction in June of 2024 and is being built in Kemmerer, Wyoming. This advanced reactor will use sodium to cool itself.

In May of 2025, President Trump signed a series of four executive orders to unleash nuclear energy in the U.S. These addressed matters like streamlining the nuclear permitting process, building the nuclear workforce, and exploring new technologies and innovations, including fuel recycling and reprocessing. The prior long timeline to be approved has been one of the biggest barriers for both suppliers and users to overcome.

The long waiting period resulted in capital being potentially wasted as the companies tried to make plans while not approved, and users not knowing if their energy plan was going to fall through as they were hoping to develop their work. One of the impacts of Trump’s executive orders was the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shortening its timeline to approve or deny a project 18 months after it is submitted. The Department of Energy (DOE) also been working with eleven nuclear plant projects to fast-track their approval process. The usual process before these actions was between 7-15 years from nuclear proposal to operation.

There are still kinks in the approval of advanced reactors. These advanced reactors use non-light-water coolants, and the hazards surrounding them are far different than traditional reactors. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is mostly used to working with traditional plants, but the comparison is like apples to oranges. The approval process should be molded to fit the needs of this new tech.

We know that grid demand is skyrocketing with the emergence of AI data centers popping up all over the country. Nuclear energy provides reliable baseload power with no carbon emissions. Advanced reactors such as small modular nuclear reactors (SMR) have been proposed and recommended to fit this rising demand. These SMRs are designed to be more compact, scalable, and potentially safer than traditional plants, with many other features like passive safety systems and advanced engineering designs.

This new nuclear expansion by Meta and other tech companies sends a message to every major company with large energy needs. The nuclear landscape is different from what it has been in the past. Some businesses have been sitting back, trying to assess if President Trump’s orders would make the process easier, but Meta is one of the first to try it out.

The federal government is doing all in its power to make nuclear energy more accessible. Nuclear developers, as well as companies requiring extra grid capacity, should be encouraged by the last year of nuclear sector developments.