Another tech giant sees a nuclear-powered future

Earlier this week, Meta (parent company of Facebook) sent out a request for proposals for nuclear-generated electricity beginning next decade. Reuters reports:

Meta said on Tuesday it is seeking proposals from nuclear power developers to help meet its artificial intelligence and environment goals, becoming the latest big tech company to take interest in atomic power amid an expected boom in electricity demand.

The company wants to add 1 to 4 gigawatts of new U.S. nuclear generation capacity starting in the early 2030s, it said in a release.

For comparison purposes, the largest nuclear plant in Minnesota, Xcel’s Prairie Island complex, produces just over 1 gigawatt of power.

We wish them luck. The 2030s will arrive in a little over five years from now. In the glacial pace of electric utility planning and construction, the lead time for a new conventional nuclear plant is usually measured in decades, not years.

Proposals are due back to Meta in early January and could include either larger conventional plants or newer small modular reactors.

But not in Minnesota. As I never tire of pointing out, new nuclear power plants in Minnesota are banned under state law 216B.243 subd. 3b.