General Services Administration awards historic electricity contract

January 02, 2025

Major carbon pollution-free electricity procurement for federal agencies in several mid-Atlantic and Midwest states and the District of Columbia will mark largest energy purchase in GSA history

WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced a historic long-term purchase of electricity, including carbon pollution-free electricity (CFE) from Constellation New Energy, Inc. The purchase marks GSA’s first long-term, multi-agency purchase of electricity, a portion of which is bundled CFE, and will increase resilience and reliability for federal agencies while protecting against price increases.

This energy procurement is the largest in GSA history. GSA estimates that it will comprise over 10 million megawatt-hours (MWhs) over the contract’s ten-year term, which would provide electricity equivalent to powering over one million homes annually. The procurement will deliver electricity to 80 federal facilities located throughout the territory of PJM Interconnection, a regional transmission operator (RTO) that covers portions of eleven mid-Atlantic and Midwest states and the District of Columbia.

“This historic procurement locks in a cost-competitive, reliable supply of nuclear energy over a 10-year period, accelerating progress toward a carbon-free energy future while protecting taxpayers against future price hikes,” said GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan. “We’re demonstrating how the federal government can join major corporate clean energy buyers in spurring new nuclear energy capacity and ensuring a reliable, affordable supply of clean energy for everyone.”

In the face of uncertainty over future electricity prices and increasing electricity demand from data centers and AI facilities, for instance, this contract provides federal agencies with budgetary stability and protections from future price increases by keeping their electricity costs fixed for 10 years, while also continuing to bolster the domestic nuclear industry. These nuclear facilities will operate safely and responsibly to protect public health, safety, and the environment, consistent with the U.S. government’s goals and the 2024 nuclear energy framework for action.

The contract will enable Constellation to extend the licenses of existing nuclear plants and invest in new equipment and technology that will increase output by approximately 135 carbon-free megawatts. GSA will purchase 2.4 million megawatt-hours (MWHs) of this new nuclear capacity (together with the associated Energy Attribute Certificates) over the life of the 10-year contract. Together with CFE already on the electrical grid, the purchase will enable the agencies covered in the procurement to transition to 100% carbon pollution-free electricity (CFE) by 2030.

“This agreement sends a clear message that nuclear energy must continue to play an important role in providing clean, reliable, affordable and secure energy to power our nation’s infrastructure and economy at a time of rising demand,” said Joe Dominguez, president and CEO, Constellation. “The investments we make as a result of this contract will keep these plants operating reliably for decades to come and put new, clean nuclear energy on the grid while making the best use of taxpayer dollars.”

The procurement will supply power to GSA and 13 additional entities, including the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Architect of the Capitol, the Department of Transportation, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the National Archives and Records Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Park Service, the Social Security Administration, the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Mint, and the Railroad Retirement Board. The contract is set to begin April 2025.

“Always-on, secure, clean nuclear energy is widely recognized as key to an affordable and reliable low-carbon electric grid,” said Maria Korsnick, President & CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute. “GSA’s procurement of 2.4 million MWh of electricity over the next decade from Constellation’s nuclear plants builds on commitments by the private and public sectors to invest in reliable, clean energy while promoting innovation and growth in the nuclear industry.”

The procurement is modeled on the state-of-the-art long-term CFE procurement methods pioneered by large private-sector corporate clean energy buyers, while advancing the Biden-Harris Administration’s clean and carbon-free energy goals.

The Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA) applauds the announcement from CEBA members the US General Services Administration and Constellation of a major purchase of clean firm power. “Utilizing the buying power of more than a dozen agencies of the US Federal government to advance low-cost, reliable, carbon emissions free energy sources like nuclear is a powerful signal to the broader market to drive new generation investment and new infrastructure to support it,” said Rich Powell, CEO of CEBA.

“It’s not just industry that is recognizing the importance of clean, reliable and affordable nuclear energy,” said Jeremy Harrell, CEO of ClearPath, a nonprofit that develops cutting-edge policy solutions on clean energy and clean manufacturing innovation. “The federal government’s commitment to use nuclear energy to power 14 government agencies from Constellation’s nuclear fleet demonstrates how the public and private sectors can work together. As U.S. electricity demand grows, this partnership can serve as a model to accelerate power uprates at existing nuclear sites and the construction of new nuclear reactors.”

With more than 300,000 buildings and 600,000 vehicles, the federal government is the nation’s largest energy consumer. The Federal Sustainability Plan aims to achieve net-zero emissions for federal operations by 2050 by transitioning to zero-emission vehicles, energy efficient buildings, and CFE. In particular, the government seeks to transition to 100% CFE by 2030, at least half of which will be locally supplied clean energy to meet 24/7 hourly-matched demand. Over the past three years, the Administration has developed a clean and carbon-free electricity procurement pipeline in partnership with energy suppliers across 36 states that will move the federal government from its current 40% clean and carbon-free electricity match to 70% by 2027, on its way to 100% by 2030.

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About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement and shared services for the federal government, managing a nationwide real estate portfolio of nearly 370 million rentable square feet, overseeing over $100 billion in products and services via federal contracts, and delivering technology services that serve millions of people across dozens of federal agencies. GSA’s mission is to deliver the best customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and the American people. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow us at @USGSA.

About Constellation New Energy: A Fortune 200 company headquartered in Baltimore, Constellation Energy Corporation (Nasdaq: CEG) is the nation’s largest producer of clean, emissions-free energy and a leading supplier of energy products and services to businesses, homes, community aggregations and public sector customers across the continental United States, including three fourths of Fortune 100 companies. With annual output that is nearly 90% carbon-free, our hydro, wind and solar facilities paired with the nation’s largest nuclear fleet have the generating capacity to power the equivalent of 16 million homes, providing about 10% of the nation’s clean energy. We are further accelerating the nation’s transition to a carbon-free future by helping our customers reach their sustainability goals, setting our own ambitious goal of achieving 100% carbon-free generation by 2040, and by investing in promising emerging technologies to eliminate carbon emissions across all sectors of the economy. Follow Constellation on LinkedIn and X.