Alphabet Inc. agreed to fund capacity increases at two nuclear power plants operated by its Southern Company unit, which will add about 96 megawatts of new supply amid a surge in power demand driven by data centers.
Alphabet’s Google will fund so-called upgrades at its Vogtel and Hatch nuclear power plants in Georgia through new tariffs, according to a statement on Monday. Upgrading is a way to expand the reactor’s power output by replacing some mechanical gears, among other measures.
Southern Power’s Georgia Power subsidiary co-owns the Vogtel and Hatch facilities and is operated by parent company Southern Nuclear Power. The arrangement is subject to regulatory approval.
The deal comes amid growing concerns about who should pay for the additional power infrastructure needed to meet soaring energy demand. Georgia Power said the agreement with Google will help insulate residential and other industrial customers from upgrade costs.
In a similar arrangement last year, Constellation Energy Corp. agreed to sell electricity from an Illinois nuclear plant to Meta Platforms Inc. while investing in improving the facility’s infrastructure.
Nuclear power has emerged as one of the biggest winners from the surge in electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence, thanks to its ability to provide carbon-free, around-the-clock power. Upgrading an existing plant usually takes much less time than building an entirely new facility.
—Reported by Julia Ammann, Bloomberg News
Copyright 2026 Bloomberg.
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