Dive Brief:
- Constellation Energy on Tuesday announced a 20-year power purchase agreement with Google to support the addition of 890 MW of new nuclear generation, which will be added by upgrading 11 existing units at the PJM Interconnection. The units are in half a dozen locations in Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with the first upgrade expected to come online in 2028.
- Along with the nuclear deal, which will be supported by $4.3 billion in new investments by Constellation, the two companies also signed a 15-year supply agreement for a further 2,700 MW. PJM market
- Today’s announcement follows a similar 690 MW deal Constellation struck with Amazon last week, focused on a $3 billion, 190 MW expansion of the Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant in Maryland. This new capacity is expected to come online between 2030 and 2032.
Diving knowledge:
The deal with Google is a “direct response” to PJM’s Bring Your Own Power proposal and aligns with the White House’s promise of taxpayer protections, Constellation said in a statement.
PJM Interconnection has about 6.8 GW of new capacity and is struggling to find resources as data center demand increases. The grid operator will delay a planned reliability support procurement auction following the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Sept. 29 decision to only partially approve it.
“Preserving and expanding the output of the existing nuclear fleet and developing new, clean generation is critical to meeting our nation’s growing energy needs,” Constellation Chairman, President and CEO Joe Dominguez said in a statement. The deal with Google can “serve as a model for how technology companies and the energy industry can work together … in a way that delivers benefits across the entire network for everyone, funded by private entities.”
The Google-Constellation deal will incorporate operational load shaping and demand response capabilities to reduce energy consumption during network stress, the companies said. At six nuclear sites, the deal is expected to help maintain approximately 4,400 existing jobs and create approximately 7,200 temporary construction jobs.
Shares of Constellation rose nearly 14% in morning trading.
The deal calls for deploying Google Cloud and AI in energy operations, with Constellation building Gemini Enterprise agent workflows “directly into their core operations,” according to the companies’ announcement. Under an extended five-year technology agreement, Constellation and Google will use artificial intelligence for site selection, power flow modeling, permitting and interconnection planning, generation optimization and infrastructure security.
“By combining commercial investments in core improvements with advanced Google technologies, this agreement supports the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure,” they said.
