As of the close of trading on Nov. 29, shares of Constellation Energy had returned 119% in 2024, making it one of the best-performing stocks in the S&P 500. Of note, Constellation's nuclear energy peer, Vistra, was up 315% year to date, making it the top-performing stock in the S&P 500.

The convergence of AI and nuclear energy brings unique risks, especially when AI moves from a passive tool to an autonomous participant.

Nuclear-power enthusiasts are more optimistic about the future of the technology. They think power demand will continue to increase, thanks in part to AI. And once online, new nuclear reactors will be used to displace older fossil-fuel plants, including those built to address nearer-term electricity needs.

“Supporting the development of clean energy must continue to be a priority as electric grids expand to accommodate growing energy needs,” the company said in a release. “At Meta, we believe nuclear energy will play a pivotal role in the transition to a cleaner, more reliable, and diversified electric grid.”

Advances in AI technology are sending shockwaves through the power grid. The latest generation of large language models requires significantly more computing power and energy than previous AI models.

As demand for clean electricity to run data centers increases, operators are considering nuclear energy. But the path to power has a few roadblocks.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has called for bids to build up to 4 GW of nuclear power capacity, equivalent to four full-sized nuclear reactors, amid surging energy demands from the technology industry.

The company said it is looking for developers that can help accelerate the availability of new nuclear generators and create "sufficient scale" to achieve material cost reductions.

Surging demand for AI has sparked a race to secure supplies of nuclear power. WSJ’s Peter Landers traveled to the Fukushima exclusion zone in Japan to explore the challenges of atomic energy's comeback.

Meta has issued a call for proposals for bringing nuclear reactors online by the early 2030s to support its data centres and the surrounding communities. It is looking for partners who can develop and

Meta has confirmed its plans to use nuclear power to fuel US data centers. The company announced that it’s accepting proposals from nuclear energy developers to work on the project, with the goal of adding between one and four gigawatts of nuclear energy capacity “starting in the early 2030s.”