Google and Constellation Energy announced a deal Tuesday covering 3,590 megawatts of power on the PJM grid. That includes 890 MW of new nuclear capacity from upgrades at 11 existing units in Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
According to the companies, the work will create about 7,200 construction jobs during the building period.
Two Deals in One:
890 MW of new nuclear capacity under a 20-year power purchase agreement
2,700 MW under a 15-year supply agreement, which the companies say keeps Constellation's existing plants economically viable
Uprate and Coming:
Span six sites
Represent more than $4.3 billion of new investment by Constellation
Help sustain roughly 4,400 existing jobs
Are expected to deliver the first uprate by 2028
The companies say 890 MW matches the output of a large new conventional reactor. That's a new reactor's worth of power for the grid without anyone building a new reactor.
According to the release, typical uprate work includes modernizing turbines, steam generators and digital control systems. The companies argue this approach avoids the long timelines and interconnection bottlenecks of greenfield construction.
Bringing Their Own Power: The companies called the deal a direct response to PJM's "Bring Your Own Power" proposal. It also includes demand response, which curbs noncritical power use when the grid is under heavy stress.
As part of the announcement, Constellation is adopting Google Cloud and Gemini Enterprise under a five-year technology deal. One goal is to shorten the engineering and regulatory work on uprates.
For the trades, the number to remember is about 7,200 construction jobs, and the date to circle is 2028.
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