Meta nuclear powered AI data center scuppered by discovery of rare bee species

A potential nuclear power supply deal for a Meta artificial intelligence (AI) data center was obstructed by the discovery of a rare species of bee on the land where the project was planned.

According to a Financial Times report, Meta had planned to partner with an existing nuclear power operator to provide energy for a planned AI specific data center.According to sources, CEO Mark Zuckerberg told Meta during an all-hands meeting last week that the discovery of the bee species would have complicated the project, compounding other issues in the environmental and regulatory process.

Details of the planned data center's location or the nuclear partner were not shared.

Despite the setback, Meta will continue seeking deals within the low-carbon sector and hasn't ruled out any nuclear energy supply agreements in the future.

The report comes as rival hyperscalers sign agreements with nuclear power operators to supply energy due to skyrocketing power demands from data center operations.

In September, Microsoft announced that it would take up 100 percent of a revived Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in an 837MW, 20-year deal. It has also previously signed PPA deals to procure the output of several other nuclear plants.

Back in March, AWS acquired Talen Energy’s data center campus next to the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania for $650 million. Earlier this month, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected a proposed interconnection service agreement (ISA) for the power station which would have supported an expanded colocated load at AWS' data center.

Hyperscalers have also become increasingly interested in the small modular reactor sector, signing a spate of deals. For example, last month, Amazon Web Services (AWS) signed three nuclear power deals in the US, including an agreement with Energy Northwest, a consortium of state public utilities, that will enable the development of four advanced SMRs.

In addition, Google announced a 500MW deal with SMR provider Kairos Power. The firm expects the first of the six to seven reactors under the agreement to come online in 2030.