Alphabet (GOOG 0.56%)(GOOGL 0.59%) subsidiary Google recently signed a transformative nuclear power deal with leading energy supplier NextEra Energy (NEE 2.85%). The tech giant will buy power from a currently shuttered nuclear energy facility that NextEra plans to restart by 2029. The companies also plan to explore developing new nuclear power plants in the future to help meet the country's surging power needs.
This deal is part of a broader trend, following on the heels of similar nuclear power purchase agreements (PPAs) by Microsoft (MSFT +2.06%) and Meta Platforms (META +0.15%). Together, these agreements are helping power a nuclear energy resurgence in the country to supply the massive energy needs of AI data centers.
Image source: Alphabet.
Google's power play
The cornerstone of Google's new collaboration with NextEra Energy is a 25-year PPA to purchase power from the utility's Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa. NextEra Energy shut down the plant in 2020 due to economic challenges and storm damage. However, it now plans to restart the facility, which should return to service by the first quarter of 2029.
Google is purchasing a portion of the power from the 615-megawatt (MW) plant. One of the plant's current minority owners, Central Iowa Power Cooperative, will also purchase a portion of the plant's output on the same terms as Google. NextEra Energy also signed deals with that entity and the facility's other minority owner (Corn Belt Power Cooperative) to buy out their combined 30% interest in the facility, giving it full ownership of the plant.
NASDAQ: GOOGL
Key Data Points
In addition to buying power from Duane Arnold, Google signed an agreement with NextEra to explore developing new nuclear power generation in the U.S. That collaboration will help meet the country's surging power needs. A combination of catalysts, including AI data centers, electric vehicles, and new manufacturing facilities, will drive an unprecedented surge in U.S. electricity demand over the coming decades.
The tech titan power grab
The massive power needs of AI are driving large technology companies to lock up future power supplies. Google has now secured nearly 3 gigawatts of power from NextEra Energy, a leader in renewable energy development. The company also recently signed the first-of-its-kind Hydro Framework Agreement with Brookfield Asset Management and its renewable power affiliate, Brookfield Renewable (BEPC +6.11%)(BEP +5.12%). The largest-ever corporate hydropower deal will see Brookfield provide up to 3 GW of clean energy to Google in the coming years. The first contracts under that agreement will see Google pay over $3 billion for 670 MW of capacity at two plants during the 20-year PPA term.
NYSE: NEE
Key Data Points
Google's deals follow similar agreements by Microsoft. The tech giant helped launch America's nuclear power resurgence last year by signing a 20-year deal with Constellation Energy (CEG 1.58%). That PPA will enable Constellation Energy to restart Three Mile Island Unit 1 in Pennsylvania, which it shut down in 2019 due to economic reasons. The power company aims to restart that unit as the Crane Clean Energy Center in 2028, with Microsoft buying all 845 MW of its output.
Microsoft also previously signed a massive PPA with Brookfield Renewable for renewable power. That framework agreement will see Brookfield build over 10.5 GW of new renewable energy projects in the U.S. and Europe between 2026 and 2030 to support Microsoft's surging energy needs, in the largest-ever corporate PPA.
Meanwhile, Meta Platforms followed Microsoft in securing nuclear power earlier this year. It signed a 20-year deal with Constellation to buy all the power produced from its 1.2 GW Clinton Clean Energy Center in Illinois. That deal starts in mid-2027 when the current economic support agreement keeping that facility online expires.
Cashing in on the coming power surge
After barely growing over the past couple of decades, U.S. electricity demand is on track to accelerate in the coming years, potentially growing at a 4% to 5% annual rate. That's fueling a power grab by leading technology companies, which are locking in as much energy as they can. This trend is benefiting leading power producers NextEra, Brookfield Renewable, and Constellation, which are locking in attractive power prices and securing new growth opportunities. The coming surge in electricity demand could enable those energy stocks to generate powerful returns for investors in the coming years.
