Amazon bought 690 megawatts from Constellation's Calvert Cliffs; Calvert County's zoning gates the next deal
Constellation's 20-year contract with Amazon funds a $3 billion upgrade and relicensing at Calvert Cliffs, but the county that hosts Maryland's only nuclear plant says it was never consulted, and it controls the zoning that gates the site's next options. The decision now sits with a November 3 election and a December moratorium vote.
Richard Tang · 3 min read
The signed deal is safe for investors; the next one is a county vote. On September 30, Constellation−0.82% — Constellation, down 0.82 percent today agreed to sell Amazon−0.72% — Amazon, down 0.72 percent today 690 megawatts from Calvert Cliffs, Maryland's only nuclear plant, for 20 years, revenue it says funds more than $3 billion in upgrades, a 190-megawatt uprate and license renewals 23. Yet Calvert County, which hosts the plant, read a formal statement on October 20 saying it was never consulted, because a commercial deal between two companies needs no county approval 1. The county still owns the ground under Constellation's next projects.
The county found out with everyone else
The county's statement, read at its October 20 meeting, said it learned of the deal from the announcement 1. Constellation told the county no Amazon data center will be built at the plant and the power stays on the regional grid 12.
The contract money is specific: more than $3 billion in improvements, including the 190-megawatt uprate due between 2030 and 2032, and relicensing of two reactors whose licenses expire in 2034 and 2036 23.
The same 2,000 acres, two opposite plans
The tension sits on Constellation's own campus. Amazon dropped its planned data-center campus beside the plant in August after community pushback, then bought the power anyway 12. The county imposed a six-month moratorium on new data-center applications on August 18, and residents now demand the environmental studies they say were promised, the documented findings that would let county rules survive a developer's lawsuit 1.
Plant workers made the counter-case: the site pays about $21 million a year in local taxes, and the contract replaces 2034 shutdown planning with a two-decade horizon 1.
The contract is signed; the cash is not
Constellation's free cash flow is negative again after a positive stretch
Data
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Q3 '24 | -$0.65B |
| Q4 '24 | -$1.75B |
| Q1 '25 | -$0.78B |
| Q2 '25 | $0.71B |
| Q3 '25 | $1.44B |
| Q4 '25 | -$0.15B |
| Q1 '26 | -$0.89B |
| Q2 '26 | -$0.11B |
The contract book is real and the cash is not: free cash flow has been negative three straight quarters and debt stood at $24.7 billion on June 30 after the Calpine acquisition 4. Management's bridge is court-ordered gas plant sales and the next hyperscaler deals. Constellation says it is open to another data center at the site, but only in partnership with the county 2. That partnership is exactly what the October 20 statement says does not yet exist 1.
Ten weeks that decide the site's next decade
The clock is local: a November 3 election seats a new county board, a two-year moratorium is expected in December, and the current one expires in February 1. The uprate and relicensing need Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval, which the county does not control 13.
Read the site as a chain: the 20-year contract funds the uprate and relicensing; the uprate and any new reactors need land and permits the county controls. The signed deal moves the first link. The next link is decided by voters on November 3 and commissioners in December, and that is where to watch for the follow-on contract the stock has not been paid for yet.
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