Microsoft Set To Reopen Three Mile Island Energy plant
By James Hughes
America’s Three Mile Island energy plant, the site of the worst nuclear accident in US history, is preparing to reopen as Microsoft looks for ways to satisfy its growing energy needs.
The tech giant said it had signed a 20-year deal to purchase power from the Pennsylvania plant, which would reopen in 2028 after improvements.
According to BBC, the agreement is intended to provide the company with a clean source of energy as power-hungry data centres for artificial intelligence (AI) expand.
The plan will now go to regulators for approval.
The owner of the plant, Constellation Energy, said the reactor it planned to restart was next to, but “fully independent” of, the unit that had been involved in the 1979 accident.
It caused no injuries or deaths but provoked widespread fear and mistrust among the US public, discouraging the development of nuclear power in the US for decades.
However, there is renewed interest in nuclear as concerns about climate change grow – and companies need more energy due to advances in artificial intelligence.
Constellation chief executive Joe Dominguez told analysts on Friday that the deal was a “powerful symbol of the rebirth of nuclear power as a clean and reliable energy resource”.
“Before it was prematurely shuttered due to poor economics, this plant was among the safest and most reliable nuclear plants on the grid, and we look forward to bringing it back with a new name and a renewed mission,” he said in a statement announcing the deal.
He said nuclear plants were the “only energy sources” that could consistently deliver an “abundance” of carbon-free energy.
Microsoft also called it a “milestone” in its efforts to “help decarbonize the grid”.
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