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The General Services Administration (GSA), which manages government buildings, has just announced a major nuclear power contract. The announcement comes on the heels of several major tech companies making a flurry of nuclear power deals in the past year.
The 10-year, $840 million contract is for 10 million megawatt-hours of electricity, which the GSA says is the equivalent of what is needed for more than 1 million homes annually. The agency awarded the contract to Constellation, which operates the nation’s largest nuclear fleet, and recently announced a deal with Microsoft to restart a nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island. Nuclear power makes up a significant portion of the GSA agreement, about 4 million megawatt-hours, according to Constellation spokesman Paul Adams..
Silicon Valley is growing return to nuclear power to satiety increasing demand for electricity from AI data centers. The federal government is the nation’s largest consumer of energy, making this contract a huge advantage for the nuclear industry.
“This agreement is another powerful example of how things have changed.”
“Frustratingly… nuclear energy has been excluded from many corporate and government sustainable energy purchases. Not anymore. This agreement is another powerful example of how things have changed,” said Joe Dominguez, president and CEO of Constellation. press release. “The U.S. government joins Microsoft and other entities in supporting the continued investment in reliable nuclear power that will enable Constellation to strengthen and extend the lives of these critical assets.”
Constellation says it generates 10 percent of the nation’s carbon-free energy. A most of its production is nuclear energybut also produces hydro, wind and solar energy. It also generates electricity from gas-fired power plants, although the company has set a goal of reaching 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2040 compared to close to 90 percent today.
Constellation and the GSA declined to answer questions about how much of the electricity included in the contract comes from any source other than nuclear power plants.. In all, it is the largest energy procurement contract that GSA has signed in its history.
“This historic acquisition closes in on a reliable and cost-competitive nuclear power supply,” GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan said in a press release. “We’ve shown how the federal government can join with major corporate buyers of clean energy to spur new nuclear power capacity and ensure a reliable and affordable supply of clean energy for all.”
The contract will allow Constellation to extend licenses for existing nuclear power plants as well as “invest in new equipment and technology” which should result in 135 megawatts of additional capacity. The GSA has agreed to buy 2.4 million megawatt-hours of electricity from that added capacity over 10 years. Outside of GSA buildings, the agreement also extends to 13 other agencies, including the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Transportation, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the National Park Service, the Social Security and the United States Mint.
U GSA is framing contract as a way to lock in more affordable prices, as data centers increase demand for electricity and increase competition for limited clean energy sources:
In the face of uncertainty about future electricity prices and the increasing demand for electricity from data centers and AI facilities, for example, this contract provides federal agencies with budget stability and protection from future price increases, keeping their electricity costs fixed for 10 years, and counting. to strengthen the domestic nuclear industry.
Google, Meta, Amazonand Microsoft they signed all the nuclear power business splash in the last year. In September of last year, Microsoft and Constellation announced a plan to restart a closed reactor at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, the site of the worst nuclear accident in US history.
The Biden administration has also made nuclear power a key part of its plan to transition the United States from fossil fuels to energy sources that do not cause climate change. Last October, the Department of Energy announced a $1.52 billion loan to help restart a retired nuclear generating station in Covert Township, Michigan. And while the president-elect Donald Trump plans to cancel progress made toward clean energy, Trump’s campaign agenda included efforts to “support nuclear power production.”
