June 23 (Reuters) – Retail bellwether Walmart has signed a long-term nuclear power purchase agreement with Constellation Energy, the companies said on Tuesday.
Under the agreement, Constellation Energy will supply nuclear power from its Dresden Clean Energy Center in Illinois to Walmart’s previously announced “high-tech” perishable distribution center, currently in development in Belvidere, Illinois.
• Walmart will buy about 176 megawatts of electricity, including 30 megawatts of additional output from planned upgrades, under two 15-year contracts starting in 2029 and 2030.
• The agreement is among the first between a major U.S. retailer and a nuclear energy provider and underscores growing corporate interest in baseload clean power, which can provide electricity around the clock.
• The deal would support investment in efficiency upgrades, or uprates, at the Dresden Clean Energy Center, allowing the plant to increase output without building new generation capacity.
• Dresden, one of Constellation’s largest nuclear plants, is licensed to operate through 2049 and 2051.
(Reporting by Varun Sahay in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
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