Google, Constellation strike 20-year nuclear power deal
The agreement includes a capacity increase at the Salem Generating Station in New Jersey.
Google will help finance more than $4.3 billion in upgrades to existing nuclear power plants in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Illinois under a deal with Constellation Energy that will add electricity to the PJM regional grid.
Under the agreement announced Tuesday, Google committed to buying 890 megawatts of additional nuclear power from Constellation for 20 years. That long-term purchase commitment gives Constellation the financial backing to invest in new equipment and technology at 11 existing nuclear reactors.
The upgrades, known as nuclear uprates, are expected to add generating capacity to the PJM Interconnection grid roughly equivalent to the output of a new large nuclear reactor.
PJM operates the electric grid serving New Jersey, 12 other states and the District of Columbia. The grid operator has been grappling with rapidly rising electricity demand, driven in significant part by the growth of data centers, while new power generation has been slow to come online.
In New Jersey, the project includes the Salem Nuclear Power Plant in Lower Alloways Creek Township. Constellation owns 43% of Salem, while PSEG owns the remaining 57%. The upgrades will add an estimated 97 megawatts of capacity at Salem, according to the company.
Rather than constructing new reactors, Constellation will increase the output of existing plants by upgrading equipment such as turbines, steam generators, and digital control systems. Because the reactors and their connections to the transmission grid already exist, the company says the projects can add electricity more quickly than building new generating facilities.
The first uprate is expected to begin supplying additional power in 2028, with the projects rolling out through 2032.
Constellation and Google have also entered into a separate 15-year agreement for 2,700 megawatts of electricity from Constellation plants. Constellation said the long-term agreement is intended to help keep the existing plants economically viable and supplying electricity to the regional grid.
Google has characterized the arrangement as a way to support its growing electricity needs while paying for additional generating capacity rather than shifting the cost of that growth to residential ratepayers.
Constellation says the upgrades will sustain about 4,400 existing jobs and create roughly 7,200 construction jobs at six nuclear sites.
The companies also signed a five-year technology agreement under which Constellation will use Google Cloud and Gemini artificial intelligence tools for power-plant operations, planning, permitting, and cybersecurity.
Krystal Knapp is the founder, executive director, and publisher of The Jersey Vindicator and the founder of Planet Princeton. She has more than two decades of experience reporting in New Jersey, including 10 years at The Trenton Times, where she was the newsroom’s public records and computer-assisted reporting expert. Her work has been recognized by the New Jersey Press Association and the Center for Cooperative Media. You can reach her at Krystal AT jerseyvindicator.org.