Mugglehead
Subscribe

Constellation Energy Corporation signs 20‑year Google pact for 890 MW of nuclear uprates

Constellation says the upgrades represent more than US$4.3B of investment across 11 units, with the first increment expected by 2028.

Ines Halvorsen·
A large steam turbine casing stands beneath an overhead crane in an empty industrial hall.
A steam turbine casing beneath an overhead crane in an anonymous industrial hall. Illustration: Mugglehead, generated with AI.

The first of 890 megawatts of planned nuclear uprates is expected by 2028 under an agreement announced Tuesday by Constellation Energy Corporation NASDAQCEG. Constellation said the upgrades across 11 operating units represent more than US$4.3 billion of new investment. Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc. NASDAQGOOGL, is the counterparty to the 20-year power purchase agreement.

A separate 15-year supply agreement covers 2,700 megawatts from Constellation's existing fleet in the PJM Interconnection market. The 2,700 megawatts is contracted output from plants already operating. The 890 megawatts depends on upgrades that have not yet been delivered, with the first increment expected by 2028. The announcement does not say when the 15-year supply term starts.

Before Tuesday's announcement, Constellation shares closed at US$267.62 on Nasdaq on Oct. 5 at 4 p.m. EDT, according to the NASDAQCEG quote page. That close provides a reference for the first regular trading session after the deal.

The Oct. 6 announcement gives no price per megawatt-hour, buyer payment total or supply commencement date for either agreement. It identifies the US$4.3 billion as investment by Constellation, rather than payments from Google. The companies also agreed to a five-year technology alliance using Google Cloud and Gemini Enterprise for planning, equipment monitoring and grid security. That software agreement has its own term and does not add generation capacity.

"Our agreement with Constellation to fund nuclear reactor uprates will strengthen the PJM grid, which serves 67 million people, all while protecting energy affordability and supporting local union jobs," Google global head of energy and power Amanda Peterson Corio said in the joint release.

The First Uprate Is Expected By 2028

Constellation plans the upgrades at six nuclear sites in Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Its Oct. 6 release identifies turbines, steam generators and digital control systems as equipment that can raise output at operating plants. It does not divide the 890 megawatts among the sites or give completion dates for individual reactors. The release describes efficiency improvements at operating reactors rather than construction of a new nuclear plant.

The same announcement does not identify equipment delivery dates, reactor-specific permit filings or regulatory decision dates. Those missing dates limit how far the 2028 expectation can be translated into a schedule for the rest of the planned capacity. Constellation said the agreements would sustain about 4,400 existing jobs and create about 7,200 construction jobs during the upgrades.

In the same PJM market, Talen Energy Corporation NASDAQTLN said in a June 11, 2025 release that its Susquehanna nuclear power agreement covers 1,920 megawatts at full quantity. Talen expects to reach that volume no later than 2032, with the agreement running through 2042.

The Constellation-Google package also includes provisions for reducing nonessential power use during grid stress. The release gives no megawatt quantity for that flexibility, while a separate framework calls for the companies to evaluate future generation, storage and demand response opportunities. That framework names no committed capacity or construction date.

Read more: Xcel Energy's Google agreement faces Minnesota AG request to withhold approval

Constellation's next stated delivery milestone is the first uprate by 2028. The Oct. 6 announcement does not name the unit or give a commissioning date for it.

More in Alternative Energy

View all