Google signs 20-year deal with Constellation to add 890MW of nuclear power

Google and Constellation Energy have signed a 20-year power deal that will add 890 megawatts of nuclear capacity to the grid that serves much of the eastern US.

Instead of new reactors, the deal pays for upgrades at 11 of Constellation’s existing units across six sites in Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

These upgrades, called uprates, replace turbines, steam generators and controls so each reactor makes more power.

The first uprate is due by 2028, and all 890MW should be online before the end of 2032. That is roughly the output of one large new reactor, Google said, delivered years faster than building one from scratch.

Constellation will invest more than $4.3bn in the work, which should create about 7,200 building jobs and help keep around 4,400 others. Neither company disclosed what Google will pay, though Bloomberg had put the deal at $1bn or more.

The power will feed into PJM, the grid that serves 67 million people in 13 states. Google is the main buyer, and it said other power users would not pay for the work.

The agreement goes beyond the uprates. A separate 15-year supply deal covers 2,700MW from Constellation’s existing plants. Constellation will also use Google’s Gemini Enterprise AI tools to plan and run its sites, under a new five-year deal.

“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,” said Joe Dominguez, Constellation’s chief executive.

With this deal, Google says it has now enabled more than 1.5 gigawatts of US nuclear capacity through uprates and restarts.

That includes the Duane Arnold plant in Iowa, which NextEra is bringing back into service, and uprates at Georgia Power reactors, according to Google.

AI is behind the rush for steady power. Google has also joined Nvidia in an industry alliance to make data centres cut their use when grids are strained, and the Constellation deal includes similar demand-response measures.

Constellation already sells nuclear power to other tech giants. Microsoft agreed in 2024 to restart a unit at Three Mile Island, and Meta buys the output of the Clinton plant in Illinois.