Google, Georgia Power announce partnership to uprate plants

Georgia Power and Google have entered into an agreement that would have the tech giant provide support to uprate the Vogtle and Hatch nuclear power plants and add approximately 96 MWe of new capacity to the grid.

A news release and documents filed with the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) on Monday said the utility will request an extended power uprate for the two units at Hatch, in Baxley, Ga.; the PSC must still approve this uprate request. An extended power uprate for Vogtle-1 and -2, near Waynesboro, Ga., was already approved by the PSC in 2025.

According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's list of expected uprate applications, the NRC expects Georgia Power-a subsidiary of Southern Company-to submit applications for power uprates at Hatch-1 and -2 in the second quarter of 2027 and for Vogtle-1 and -2 in the last quarter of 2028.

Georgia Power's extended power uprates would increase the reactors' power generating capacity through targeted upgrades and improvements to turbines, pumps, motors, and cooling systems.

"Many of our large customers have specific clean-energy goals, and we continue to work with the Georgia PSC to create programs that not only help them meet their goals but align with our Customer Protection Pledge, enhancing the reliability and resiliency of the power grid and creating savings for all customers," said Aaron Mitchell, Georgia Power's senior vice president of strategic growth . "We appreciate Google's continued leadership in this space and partnership in developing this program, which we see as the latest example of how large-load growth can benefit all electric customers."

According to Georgia Power, Hatch and Vogtle provide more than one-quarter of the state's energy mix. Currently, Hatch-1 and -2 have a combined power generating capacity of 1,793 MWe, while Vogtle-1 and -2 have a combined generating capacity of 2,338 MWe. This uprate would not impact Vogtle-3 and -4, the two newest AP1000s, which connected to the grid in 2023 and 2024.

Google's involvement: Along with the extended power uprate request, Georgia Power submitted the nuclear uprate (NU-1) tariff structure and the zero-emissions credit subscription agreement with Google to the Georgia PSC. That agreement, however, was completely redacted.

Georgia Power now has shared that Google's involvement is part of a subscription-based program. The tech company will subscribe to the new NU-1 tariff and receive zero-emission credits associated with the power ultimately generated by the upgraded units. According to the utility, this approach protects nonparticipating customers from incremental costs related to uprate work. Google's involvement would generate approximately $900 million in benefits to Georgia Power customers over the life of the units, the news release said.

"Google data centers are long-term investments in the communities we call home, catalyzing local economic development and accelerating clean energy deployment," Google Advanced Energy Technologies director Lucia Tian said. "This collaboration with Georgia Power ensures that digital infrastructure growth goes hand-in-hand with positive local impact, helping to deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in direct customer benefits and supporting a more affordable, clean, and reliable energy system for all Georgia residents."