Google just signed the largest nuclear power purchase agreement in American history—3,590 megawatts over 20 years from Constellation Energy—while the Biden EPA continues to block pipeline construction and LNG export terminals that would lower energy costs for ordinary Americans. Two energy systems, one country: Silicon Valley gets firm baseload power locked in for decades; you get rolling blackout warnings and a higher utility bill.
The deal matters because it confirms what the grid operators have been signaling for months: there isn't enough power to go around. PJM, the largest electricity market in the United States, has effectively told big power consumers to bring their own generation. Google listened. ZeroHedge reported that the deal is an explicit response to PJM's "bring your own power" proposal—an admission that the regional grid cannot simultaneously serve AI data centers and residential ratepayers without new supply.
Here is what Google actually bought. According to both outlets, 890 MW comes from upgrades at 11 existing Constellation nuclear reactors in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey—what the companies are calling "new clean firm power." The first upgraded unit is expected online by 2028. Constellation will invest $4.3 billion and says the work creates 7,200 construction jobs. The remaining 2,700 MW is a long-term supply agreement for Constellation's existing output—not tied to any specific plant. ZeroHedge's translation was blunt: Google is essentially locking in a long-dated price for a big chunk of electricity that was already flowing to the grid. Business Insider buried that distinction, framing the entire 3,590 MW as a nuclear-energy milestone.
The stock market noticed. Constellation shares surged as much as 15 percent on Tuesday, trading above $300 for the first time in a month. The VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF jumped 5 percent. Constellation president and CEO Joe Dominguez called the deal a model for "how technology companies and the energy industry can work together" and said it delivers "grid-wide benefits for all, funded by private entities." The "grid-wide benefits for all" claim is worth watching. When a hyperscaler locks up 2,700 MW of existing supply, that capacity is not available to the municipal utilities and co-ops serving working-class ratepayers.
This is not Constellation's first rodeo. In 2024, Microsoft signed on to restart Three Mile Island. Meta partnered with Constellation in 2025. Last week, Amazon closed a 690 MW, 20-year deal at Calvert Cliffs. ZeroHedge noted that Google's new agreement is larger than the Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon deals combined. Constellation has become Big Tech's nuclear landlord.
The follow-the-money angle cuts deeper. Google is also funding the restart of NextEra's Duane Arnold reactor in Iowa—which just landed a $1.9 billion Department of Energy loan. Taxpayer-backed financing subsidizing a hyperscaler's power supply. Meanwhile, the same federal government that greenlights DOE loans for Big Tech's nuclear renaissance has the EPA sitting on LNG export permits and blocking pipeline construction that would deliver cheap domestic gas to American homes and allies abroad.
Constellation stock is still down roughly 14 percent year-to-date, and the broader nuclear trade has cooled—the VanEck ETF is off 11 percent in 2026. The AI capex cycle revived the sector this week. Whether residential ratepayers see any benefit at all from the nuclear renaissance remains an open question.
