In the News
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues its relentless march into every corner of technology, the energy systems that sustain it are undergoing a structural transformation. What once was a peripheral concern—can the grid keep up with data center demand?—has become a fulcrum of strategic planning for both tech giants and national infrastructure planners. Meta’s recent multi-gigawatt nuclear power deals are the clearest signal yet that AI’s energy appetite is reshaping both how data centers are powered and how energy systems must evolve.
AI-optimized data centers are far more energy-intensive than traditional facilities. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global data center electricity demand is on track to more than double by 2030, potentially consuming nearly 1,000 terawatt-hours (TWh) annually—a volume larger than the total electricity demand of many individual countries today.
In the United States, power demand from data centers could grow more than thirtyfold from 2024 through 2035 as AI workloads proliferate, according to industry estimates—a surge that would roughly match all new grid capacity additions required over that period.
These projections help explain why tech companies are no longer content to simply plug into an already strained grid; the scale of growth is too vast and too rapid.
On January 9, 2026, Meta Platforms announced a series of long-term agreements to secure nuclear power for its AI data centers, anchored by a massive new facility called Prometheus in New Albany, Ohio.
Prometheus itself is designed as a 1-gigawatt cluster—roughly the size of a mid-sized power plant—and is expected to come online later this year. To supply this facility and future AI expansion, Meta has struck deals with three nuclear energy partners:
Altogether, these agreements are expected to support up to 6.6 gigawatts of nuclear generation capacity by 2035—enough energy to power roughly 5 million homes.
This approach reflects a deliberate pivot toward firm, reliable, and low-carbon power sources that can sustainably keep pace with AI growth—a shift that analysts say may establish nuclear as a core energy source for 21st-century digital infrastructure. Source: Nuclear Business Platform
Nuclear energy is increasingly viewed as a strategic complement to renewables for several reasons:
To illustrate this shift, consider that U.S. data centers consumed roughly 4.4% of the nation’s total electricity in 2023—and that figure is expected to climb significantly by the end of the decade. There’s little doubt that AI workloads are driving this trend.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Even beyond U.S. borders, a growing chorus of analysts and energy planners points to nuclear as one of the few scalable solutions capable of sustaining exponential increases in electricity demand while meeting decarbonization goals. Source: Nuclear Business Platform
Meta’s agreement is not just another corporate renewable contract. It represents a major bet that long-term, high-capacity nuclear power will be a cornerstone of future AI infrastructure—a stance that other hyperscalers are watching closely.
As one energy sector commentator put it, AI demand is “sparking a nuclear revival” in regions where grid strain has already forced planners to reconsider retired reactors and delayed plant shutdowns. Source: Georgia Tech News
That grid impact is already visible in the U.S. For example, households in some regions are seeing rising bills as utilities make costly upgrades to accommodate new data center load—a phenomenon that experts warn is just the beginning of a broader structural shift in energy demand dynamics. Source: People
AI’s rise is not merely about computational performance—it is about sustainable infrastructure. As global energy requirements for data centers climb toward roughly 1,000 TWh worldwide by 2030 and continue beyond, data center operators and energy planners alike must focus on firm, predictable sources of capacity that align with climate commitments and market reliability standards. Source: IEA
Tech companies are increasingly seeing power procurement as an infrastructure competitive edge, much like networking or chip design. Meta’s nuclear agreements align with this perspective by locking in long-term energy supply that is both robust and flexible enough to support an AI-infused future.
The structural pressures created by AI on energy grids—from the doubling of data center energy demand to the push for carbon-free baseload capacity—are not temporary. Experts project that as data center footprints expand and workloads become more energy-intensive, traditional grid upgrades alone will not be sufficient. Strategic sourcing, grid modernization, and a blend of nuclear, renewable, and storage technologies will be essential.
In this emerging landscape, Meta’s nuclear approach may be a bellwether for broader shifts in how energy systems and digital infrastructure co-evolve. For senior technology and energy leaders, the lesson is clear: AI’s future is as much about electrons per second as it is about calculations per second.
