Mapping the Momentum: Where Clean Firm Energy Is Taking Off and Who’s Behind It 

As U.S. energy demand rises, corporate buyers are seeking new clean firm generation resources to provide reliable, carbon emissions-free electricity to power their growing operations. 

Clean firm energy refers to electricity sources such as nuclear (i.e., restarts of conventional nuclear and new advanced nuclear), geothermal, fusion, hydropower, long-duration energy storage, and thermal generation with carbon capture and storage (CCS) that can provide consistent, low-carbon or carbon emissions-free power on demand. This analysis focused on new nuclear, fusion, geothermal, and hydropower announcements from 2021 through Q3 (Sept. 30, 2025).

What Does the Data Show? 

CEBA has tracked 21 clean firm deals in the U.S., involving nuclear, fusion, geothermal, and hydro projects. These deals, which are limited to new or qualified repowering projects, show that: 

Why Does This Matter?

Note on carbon capture and storage (CCS)
While this development falls outside of the time frame of this analysis, it is worth noting Google recently announced a groundbreaking corporate agreement to back a new gas-fired power plant equipped with CCS that would begin operation in early 2030. Be on the lookout for a CCS Primer coming in early 2026 focused on customer considerations in evaluating the suite of technologies.

The types of contracts vary across these announcements, but most are multiyear, sometimes even decades-long, deals. By committing to long‑term clean energy purchases, corporate buyers are helping accelerate the commercialization of emerging technologies and ensuring reliable access to power for the U.S. market well into the future. 

Corporate buyers have played an instrumental role in spurring clean energy growth across the U.S. Buyers are now demanding that policymakers address the regulatory hurdles hindering the buildout of clean firm energy resources and supporting infrastructure to meet unprecedented electricity growth in America.   

CEBA and its members are working with policymakers on these potential reforms, ensuring the clean firm technologies corporate buyers support come online to provide reliable, low-cost, carbon emissions-free energy needed to sustain a growing U.S. economy. 

This analysis leverages data from the CEBA Deal Tracker. The CEBA Deal Tracker represents publicly announced procurement of clean energy by commercial and industrial customers through power purchase agreements (PPAs), green tariffs, bilateral deals with utilities, energy storage agreements, energy customer tax equity investments, and direct project ownership in the U.S. since 2014. This tracker only includes deals for new or qualified repowering clean energy projects.