Google Contracts 3.6 Gigawatts from Constellation in Largest US Power Deal, Anchored by Nuclear Upgrades
The 20-year agreement covers 890 megawatts from eleven upgraded nuclear reactors in PJM, with a separate 15-year supply deal for 2,700 megawatts, giving the tech giant long-term price certainty while funding $4.3 billion in new generation capacity.
NEW YORK: Google has contracted for 3,590 megawatts of power from Constellation Energy in the largest US grid, with new nuclear energy accounting for about a quarter of that supply, the companies said on Tuesday (Reuters, 2026). The arrangement marks the most substantial power procurement by a technology company to date as hyperscalers race to secure electricity for AI data centers.
The deal is structured in two parts. Google entered a 20-year power purchase agreement for 890 megawatts from multiple Constellation-owned nuclear plants in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, which will be upgraded to produce more electricity from existing reactors. Electricity from the first upgraded plant is expected in 2028. Constellation will invest more than $4.3 billion in its fleet as part of the agreement. Separately, Google signed a 15-year supply agreement for an additional 2,700 megawatts in the PJM power grid, not tied to a specific generation source, providing long-term revenue certainty for Constellation's operating plants.
The context is a grid under severe strain. PJM capacity prices have increased more than eleven-fold since 2024, driven largely by data center expansion, leaving the 13-state grid with a power shortfall (Reuters, 2026). In response, PJM management has proposed requiring data center customers to either bring their own power or face remote shutoff during peak demand. The Google-Constellation deal is explicitly framed as a response to that proposal, with the companies describing it as a "practical model for how major power consumers can expand new supply alongside growing operational requirements, without state or federal mandates."
Constellation CEO Joe Dominguez called the arrangement a model for how technology companies and the energy industry can work together to develop the digital economy while investing in infrastructure that delivers grid-wide benefits funded by private entities. The companies also agreed on a strategic framework they say can be replicated for power generation, battery storage, and demand response in other parts of the US.
BuiltWorld AI Operational Take: This deal establishes a template that other hyperscalers will be under pressure to follow. The combination of a long-term nuclear PPA and a broader grid supply agreement gives Google both carbon-free baseload and the flexibility to manage variable load, while the $4.3 billion in Constellation investments creates new capacity rather than simply reshuffling existing electrons. The operational challenge is execution. Upgrading eleven nuclear reactors across three states involves regulatory approvals, outage scheduling, and supply chain coordination that span multiple years. Project teams tracking PJM should watch whether the 2028 delivery target for the first upgraded plant holds, because any slippage in that timeline cascades directly into Google's data center commissioning schedules.