Meta announced Friday it’s funding an expansion of the Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station as the tech giant hoovers up energy for its “superintelligence” initiative.
The deal caps a dramatic reversal of fortunes for the Vistra-owned plant in Shippingport, Beaver County, which was at one point scheduled to shutter in 2021.
Vistra, a Texas-based energy company, is also getting investments in two of its nuclear power facilities in Ohio — one in Perry, and the other in Oak Harbor — plus a promise from Meta to purchase 2.1 gigawatts of power.
A gigawatt — 1 billion watts — is equivalent to 294 wind turbines or half the power generated by the Hoover Dam, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
The upgrades will create 433 megawatts of new capacity between the three power stations by the early 2030s, according to Meta. Beaver Valley, alone, is set for an extra 140 megawatts between its two units.
Power will flow into the regional grid, rather than directly to Meta data centers.
The Facebook parent company launched a division in June focused on accelerating the pursuit of artificial general intelligence — a hypothetical model capable of matching human intellect.
“Nuclear energy will help power our AI future, strengthen our country’s energy infrastructure and provide clean, reliable electricity for everyone,” Joel Kaplan, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, said in a statement.
A separate partnership with TerraPower will finance the development of two new nuclear power units that could come online as soon as 2032, plus secure the “rights for energy” from up to six other reactors.
If all eight units are built, it will add 2.8 gigawatts of capacity to the grid.
Meta is also working with Oklo to construct a new nuclear energy facility in Pike County, Ohio, which could be done as early as 2030 and offer 1.2 gigawatts of capacity.
Combined, the deals announced Friday will support up to 6.6 gigawatts of new energy generation potential by 2035.
According to Meta, the projects will create “thousands of skilled jobs” in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
The firm withheld some details, including an exact dollar figure for the investments.
Brian Kennedy, senior vice president of operations and government affairs at the Pittsburgh Technology Council, was ecstatic at the news — and not just because he grew up within walking distance of the Shippingport plant.
“That power requires manufactured goods that we manufacture in every county across Southwestern Pennsylvania,” he said. “Any industry that comes along and makes investments in the energy grid is powering jobs in Pittsburgh.”
