Constellation’s $4.3 Billion Google-Backed Upgrades vs. Vistra’s $4.2 Billion Government Loan: Which Nuclear Plan Is Better for Shareholders?
Support for nuclear energy’s revitalization continues to firm up. Just last week, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a $4.2 billion loan intended to facilitate investments in electric utility Vistra‘s (NYSE: VST) nuclear power production infrastructure. Then, the very next day, Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) made a 20-year commitment to purchase 890 megawatts’ worth of nuclear-generated electricity from utility company Constellation Energy (NASDAQ: CEG), allowing Constellation to comfortably plan a $4.3 billion investment in its own nuclear energy output capacity.
Both developments are, first and foremost, meant to meet the rapidly growing power needs of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. But both investments in expanding these utility outfits’ nuclear power capabilities will also eventually benefit customers beyond data center owners/operators. The two different agreements also illustrate that there’s more than one way to fund this renewal of the nuclear energy business.
One of these plans is better for shareholders of one of these outfits than the other, though.
Source: www.fool.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.