Meta Is Interested in Pursuing Nuclear Power. The Problem: Bees Are Reportedly Complicating Its Plans

Meta was poised to advance its mission to remain at the forefront of artificial intelligence. The company, known for products like Instagram, the Meta Quest Pro, and Llama 3, had plans to power one of its upcoming data centers with nuclear energy. This move made sense, especially since competitors such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are pursuing similar initiatives.

However, CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s plans encountered an unexpected obstacle. Although there’s no official confirmation, sources consulted by the Financial Times indicate that a rare species of bee was discovered on the land designated for the project. The newspaper also reports that the company has been facing “multiple complications.”

Let’s take a closer look at the situation.

Meta Planned to Buy Energy From an Existing Power Plant

According to sources familiar with the situation, Meta aimed to strike a deal with an existing nuclear power plant operator to purchase electricity from it. This approach mirrors the strategy used by Amazon, which is negotiating a similar deal with Talen Energy, an operator in Pennsylvania. However, this option involves certain conditions, including requiring the data center to be located near the power plant.

Here’s the first challenge Meta is facing. The land adjacent to the nuclear power plant was intended to house advanced technological infrastructure potentially consisting of hundreds or thousands of graphic processing units. However, it’s home to a “rare bee species.” The Financial Times reports that this discovery has derailed Meta’s original plan, which is already facing a variety of environmental and regulatory challenges.

It’s currently unclear whether Meta is still pursuing this project or has decided to abandon it in favor of less complex alternatives. Rumors suggest that the company is exploring various agreements to power its data centers using low-carbon energy sources. However, nuclear power isn’t the only option being considered.

In the end, nuclear energy presents a promising opportunity for tech giants. They view it as a viable solution because it can supply large amounts of energy without undermining their short- and medium-term environmental goals. In fact, these objectives emerged even before the rise of artificial intelligence.

Image | Massimiliano Latella | Meta

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