Microsoft to bring infamous nuclear plant back to life to feed POWER-HUNGRY AI data centers
09/25/2024 / By Belle Carter
Technology giant Microsoft is reportedly planning to tap the infamous Three Mile Island nuclear power plant – which is currently not operational – to supply its artificial intelligence data centers with power.
According to a report by Bloomberg, the Big Tech company made a deal with Constellation Energy, the largest U.S. operator of nuclear reactors, to bring back to life the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Londonderry Township, Pennsylvania.
The owner of the shuttered nuclear plant will reportedly invest $1.6 billion to revive just one of the two reactors at the site, which has been dormant since 2019. The other reactor at the plant was permanently closed nearly half a century ago following the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history. Microsoft reportedly agreed to buy all the output from the plant, which is set to go back into service in 2028, as it seeks to secure a reliable source of carbon-free electricity for its data centers.
“Policymakers and the market have received a huge wake-up call,” Constellation CEO Joe Dominguez said in an interview. “There’s no version of the future of this country that doesn’t rely on these nuclear assets.”
https://www.pollution.news/2024-09-25-microsoft-revive-nuclear-plant-power-ai-data-centers.html
