[비즈한국] Global Big Tech company Meta has announced its largest-ever plan to secure nuclear energy. On the 9th (local time), Meta signed power supply contracts totaling 6.6GW with three U.S. energy companies: Vistra, TerraPower, and Oklo. Including a 2025 contract with Constellation Energy, this is the largest deal of its kind for a single corporation globally. The industry interprets Meta's move as a strategic decision to go beyond simple power purchasing and directly secure 'energy sovereignty,' the core engine of AI infrastructure.
The Only Solution for '24/7 Operating' AI Superclusters
The fundamental reason Meta is betting on nuclear power lies in the power consumption patterns of AI data centers. 'Prometheus,' a massive 1GW AI cluster currently under construction in New Albany, Ohio, consumes an astronomical amount of power compared to traditional cloud servers. In particular, the training and inference of generative AI models require high levels of stability where not even a split-second power interruption can be tolerated.
Solar and wind power, previously favored, have high variability depending on weather conditions, necessitating a high-cost structure where large-scale Energy Storage Systems (ESS) must be additionally built. In contrast, nuclear power is a prime 'baseload' power source with facility utilization rates exceeding 90%. Through its long-term 20-year contract with Vistra, Meta decided to extend the lifespan of existing nuclear plants to receive an immediate power infusion. The calculation is to fundamentally eliminate the risk of infrastructure shutdowns caused by power shortages in the AI race.
Capturing Both Carbon Neutrality and AI Growth?
A key differentiator of this contract lies in building a 'distributed power source' using Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and micro-reactors. Currently, the U.S. power grid is reaching a saturation point due to surging demand from data centers. A 'bottleneck' is intensifying where even if new data centers are built, it takes more than 5 years just to connect them to the grid.
Meta has partnered with Oklo, where Sam Altman previously served as chairman, to create a 1.2GW 'Nuclear Technology Campus' in Ohio. The plan involves placing multiple 75MW micro-reactors, known as 'Aurora Powerhouses,' near the data center to receive power directly. Meta is also injecting significant capital into sodium-cooled fast reactor technology being developed by Bill Gates' TerraPower. This is a clear expression of their commitment to building an independent energy ecosystem that does not rely on existing power grids, allowing data centers to become operational on time without waiting for grid connection.
Meta's move is read as a sophisticated maneuver to resolve the dilemma between ESG management and AI competitiveness. While Meta aims for carbon neutrality across its entire supply chain by 2030, the rapid growth of the AI industry entails massive energy consumption, threatening these environmental goals. Analysis suggests that carbon-free nuclear power has become a realistic alternative that provides large-scale power while remaining free from such criticism.
In fact, through this contract, Meta is creating thousands of specialized jobs and contributing to the restoration of the U.S. nuclear supply chain, effectively garnering policy support from the government. Joel Kaplan, Vice President of Global Policy at Meta, emphasized, "Nuclear power will be a core pillar in strengthening U.S. energy infrastructure and solidifying global leadership in the field of AI."