Meta, the parent company of Facebook, on Dec. 3 announced it will release a request for proposals to identify nuclear energy developers to help the company meet its artificial intelligence innovation and sustainability objectives -- targeting 1-4 gigawatts of new nuclear generation capacity in the U.S.
Qualified developers can fill out the intake form to receive further guidance on the RFP process, Meta said, adding that it Is taking an open approach with this RFP “so we can partner with others across the industry to bring new nuclear energy to the grid.“
Meta’s aim is to add 1-4 GW of new nuclear generation capacity in the U.S. to be delivered starting in the early 2030s.
“We are looking to identify developers that can help accelerate the availability of new nuclear generators and create sufficient scale to achieve material cost reductions by deploying multiple units, both to provide for Meta’s future energy needs and to advance broader industry decarbonization,” it said.
“We believe working with partners who will ultimately permit, design, engineer, finance, construct, and operate these power plants will ensure the long-term thinking necessary to accelerate nuclear technology. “
Meta said that when it began engaging with the renewable energy industry more than a decade ago, the industry was scaling.
“Our early engagement with developers of renewable energy allowed Meta to design contracts that enable both Meta and our developer partners to achieve our respective goals. We want to work creatively with developers to structure an agreement that will similarly enable development of nuclear technology.”
Compared to renewable energy projects "that we continue to invest in, such as solar and wind, nuclear energy projects are more capital intensive, take longer to develop, are subject to more regulatory requirements, and have a longer expected operational life. These differences mean we need to engage nuclear energy projects earlier in their development lifecycle and consider their operational requirements when designing a contract."
And, as scaling deployments of nuclear technology "offers the best chance of rapidly reducing cost, engaging with a partner across projects and locations will allow us to ensure that we can deploy strategically. An RFP process will allow us to approach these projects thoroughly and thoughtfully with these considerations in mind."
