June 3 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms ( META ) on Tuesday

said it has struck an agreement with Constellation Energy ( CEG )

to keep one of the utility's reactors in Illinois

operating for 20 years, in the Big Tech company's first such

deal with a nuclear power plant.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Big Tech companies are looking to secure electricity as U.S.

power demand rises for the first time in two decades on demand

from artificial intelligence and data centers.

Illinois helps subsidize Constellation's nuclear plant, the

Clinton Clean Energy Center, with a ratepayer-funded zero

emissions credit program that awards benefits for generation of

power virtually free of carbon emissions. That expires in 2027,

when Meta's power purchase agreement will support the plant with

an unspecified amount of money to help with re-licensing and

operations.

The deal could serve as a model for other Big Tech companies

to support existing nuclear while they also plan to power data

centers with new nuclear and other energy sources.

KEY QUOTES

Urvi Parekh, head of global energy at Meta, said: "One of

the things that we hear very acutely from utilities is they want

to have certainty that power plants operating today will

continue to operate."

Joe Dominguez, CEO of Constellation, said: "We're definitely

having conversations with other clients, not just in Illinois,

but really across the country, to step in and do what Meta has

done, which is essentially give us a backstop so that we could

make the investments needed to re-license these assets and keep

them operating."

Bobby Wendell, an official at a unit of the International

Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said the agreement will

deliver a "stable work environment" for workers at the plant.

BY THE NUMBERS

The deal also allows Constellation to expand Clinton, which

has a capacity of 1,121 megawatts, by 30 MW. The plant powers

the equivalent of about 800,000 U.S. homes.

Clinton began operating in 1987 and last year

Constellation applied with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission to renew its license through 2047.