The global electricity landscape is entering a period of explosive growth, and nuclear power is emerging as a primary beneficiary. After two decades of relatively flat demand, U.S. electricity consumption is projected to surge by 60% between 2025 and 2045, a dramatic acceleration from the 10% increase recorded between 2005 and 2025. Driving the shift is not just the electrification of transportation, but the voracious energy appetite of artificial intelligence data centers. For investors, that calculus is already reshaping the fortunes of independent power producers and nuclear technology startups alike.
Constellation Energy (CEG), the nation’s largest operator of nuclear power plants, has moved aggressively to capitalize on the trend. Unlike regulated utilities that must seek government approval for rate changes, Constellation sells electricity directly to customers at market prices. That commercial flexibility has allowed the company to strike multi-decade power purchase agreements with some of the biggest names in corporate America. The company inked a 20-year nuclear supply deal with Meta Platforms (META), directly tying its carbon-free baseload generation to the social media giant’s expanding AI infrastructure. More recently, Constellation signed a separate nuclear power agreement with Walmart (WMT), the world’s largest retailer, supporting the company’s broader push to increase its reliance on clean energy.
The Walmart contract is particularly significant because it demonstrates that AI is not the sole catalyst for nuclear demand. Constellation’s acquisition of Calpine, a major operator of natural gas-fired power plants, further diversifies its generation portfolio and positions the company to serve a broad spectrum of commercial and industrial customers as overall electricity consumption climbs. The narrative is no longer confined to a single industry; it is a macroeconomic shift in power needs.
Investor enthusiasm for nuclear power sent Constellation’s stock soaring during the initial AI-driven hype cycle, pushing its price-to-earnings ratio to nearly 50x by the end of 2025. That valuation proved unsustainable, and the shares have since retreated roughly 40% from their all-time high. The pullback has reset the earnings multiple to a far more grounded 21x, a level that aligns closely with the average utility stock’s P/E of around 20x. For long-term investors, that compression creates a more rational entry point into a company with contracted revenue visibility stretching decades into the future.
For those willing to take on more risk in pursuit of higher potential returns, NuScale Power (SMR) offers a different kind of nuclear bet. NuScale is a development-stage company pioneering small modular reactors (SMRs), a technology designed to overcome many of the traditional barriers to nuclear power deployment. Unlike massive, custom-built conventional plants, SMRs are factory-manufactured, transportable, and engineered with passive safety systems that could allow them to be sited closer to population centers. The modular design means they can be deployed individually to power a single AI data center or linked together to provide utility-scale electricity. While NuScale is still building its commercial pipeline and carries the inherent risks of a pre-revenue startup, the theoretical addressable market is enormous if SMRs gain regulatory traction and cost competitiveness.
The broader electricity demand projections underscore why both established operators and emerging technologies are attracting attention. A 60% increase in power consumption over two decades will require massive capital investment across the generation stack. Solar and wind will play a major role, but their intermittent nature creates a reliability gap that nuclear’s always-on, zero-carbon profile is uniquely suited to fill. Constellation Energy, with its existing fleet and direct-sales business model, represents the established pathway. NuScale Power embodies the speculative, high-upside bet on a next-generation solution. Both are riding a structural demand wave that is only beginning to build.