Google, Constellation Sign 3.59-GW PJM Power Deal, With $4.3 Billion-Plus Going to Nuclear Uprates

Google and Constellation Energy have agreed to a two-part power package covering 3,590 megawatts in the PJM market, pairing a long-term purchase of new nuclear output with a separate agreement for electricity from Constellation’s existing generation fleet. The centerpiece is 890 MW of additional nuclear capacity that Constellation plans to unlock through upgrades at operating reactors, supported by more than $4.3 billion of new investment by the power producer.

For Google, the arrangement provides a large block of long-term power supply as its data-center footprint expands, but only part of the headline 3.59 GW represents new generation. The other 2,700 MW comes from existing assets under a separate 15-year supply agreement. That distinction matters because the nuclear uprates are intended to increase the amount of electricity available to the grid, while the larger existing-fleet contract is designed to provide revenue certainty for generation that is already operating.

Under the 20-year power purchase agreement announced by Constellation, upgrades will be made at 11 nuclear units across six sites in Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The company said the work will improve thermal and electrical efficiency through new equipment and technology, creating 890 MW of incremental capacity. Constellation expects the first uprate to be delivered by 2028.

The 3.59 GW package has two different pieces

At the center of the package, the 890-MW nuclear portion and the 2,700-MW supply agreement serve different purposes. Google is acting as the anchor customer for the uprate projects under the 20-year PPA, giving Constellation the long-duration revenue support it says is needed to justify physical upgrades to its nuclear fleet. Those projects are expected to add power that is not currently available to PJM.

Separately, Google and Constellation signed a 15-year agreement covering 2,700 MW from Constellation’s existing PJM fleet. Constellation describes that contract as a way to keep existing assets economically viable and supplying energy and capacity to the regional market. Taken together, the two agreements cover 3,590 MW, but roughly one-quarter of that total is the new nuclear capacity created by the uprates.

Demand flexibility is another part of the broader arrangement. Constellation said the package includes load-shaping and demand-response provisions that can reduce non-critical electricity consumption during periods of grid stress. That feature links the supply contracts to a wider question facing PJM: how very large new electricity users can grow without simply adding demand at the system’s tightest hours.

Google said the nuclear agreement is being driven by its data-center growth and fits a broader effort to underwrite new clean, firm generation. In its own explanation of the agreement, the company said the Constellation projects bring the total new U.S. nuclear capacity it has enabled through uprates and reactor restarts to more than 1.5 GW. Google expects the full 890 MW from the Constellation uprates to be added before the end of 2032.

Uprates add output without building a new reactor site

Nuclear uprates seek to raise the output of existing reactors rather than build entirely new plants. The work can include turbine modernization, steam-generator improvements and digital control-system upgrades that allow a reactor to produce more electricity within its licensed and engineering limits. For utilities and large power buyers, that can create a path to new firm capacity on a shorter timeline than a greenfield nuclear project, though the upgrades still require engineering work, planned outages and applicable regulatory approvals.

Constellation said the 890 MW will come from 11 units at six operating nuclear sites. The company has not identified those individual sites in the announcement, so the disclosed project geography is limited to Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The investment is expected to sustain about 4,400 existing jobs and support roughly 7,200 construction jobs over the build period, according to the companies.

More than $4.3 billion of Constellation’s new investment is tied specifically to the nuclear upgrade program across those six sites. The companies did not present that amount as the value of the full 3.59-GW power package, nor did they disclose Google’s total payment obligations under either contract.

A separate five-year technology alliance extends the relationship beyond electricity purchases. Constellation plans to deploy Google Cloud and Gemini Enterprise across parts of its operations, with initial uses aimed at site selection, power-flow modeling, permitting and interconnection work, outage planning, asset monitoring and critical-infrastructure security. Those digital projects are distinct from the 20-year PPA and 15-year supply agreement, even though they were announced as part of the same broader collaboration.

PJM’s demand growth raises the value of near-term supply

PJM is already planning for unusually fast load growth, much of it tied to data centers. PJM has said electricity demand from data centers could grow by roughly 30 GW between 2025 and 2030, putting pressure on a region where adding new generation and transmission can take years. That makes projects capable of extracting more output from existing facilities increasingly relevant to the system’s near-term supply picture.

Google and Constellation are presenting the nuclear uprates as one model for pairing large-load growth with additional generation. Google says its long-term offtake gives the projects financing certainty while avoiding the need to recover the upgrade costs from other grid customers. Constellation likewise says the structure responds to PJM’s push for large customers to bring additional supply alongside new demand. Those claims will ultimately depend on how the projects move through engineering, licensing, construction and PJM processes, as well as how the resulting power is accounted for in the market.

Beyond the announced contracts, the companies established a framework to evaluate additional clean generation, storage and demand-response opportunities in the United States, with near-term attention on PJM. For the announced nuclear program, the first concrete milestone is Constellation’s target for an initial uprate in 2028. Google says the full 890 MW should be available before the end of 2032, which would complete the new-capacity portion of the broader 3.59-GW power package.