Microsoft chooses notorious nuclear facility to produce energy for AI
Kyiv • UNN
The US Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant is preparing to reopen in 2028. Microsoft has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement to meet its growing energy needs for AI data centers.
A U.S. power plant on Three Mile Island, the site of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history, is preparing to reopen as Microsoft looks for ways to meet its growing energy needs, UNN reports citing the BBC.
Details
The tech giant said it has signed a 20-year contract to purchase electricity from the Pennsylvania plant, which will reopen in 2028 after improvements.
The agreement is designed to provide the organization with a clean source of energy as it expands its energy-intensive data centers for artificial intelligence (AI).
The plan will now be submitted for regulatory approval.
Constellation Energy, the plant's owner, said that the reactor it planned to restart is located next to the unit that was damaged in the 1979 accident, but is "completely independent" of it.
The reopening of the plant would add more than 800 megawatts of carbon-free electricity to the grid, generating billions of dollars in taxes and other economic activity, according to a study by The Brattle Group cited by Constellation.
Addendum
Microsoft is not the only tech company that is turning to nuclear power as its energy needs grow. Earlier this year, Amazon also signed an agreement that includes the purchase of nuclear energy to power its data center. These plans are now under scrutiny by regulators.
For reference
One of the largest accidents in the history of nuclear energy occurred on March 28, 1979, at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant located on the Susquehanna River near Harrisburg.
