Units at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania are set to be restarted as part of a new energy-sharing agreement with Microsoft, which plans to use the electricity to power data centers it operates as part of its artificial intelligence efforts.
Microsoft and Pennsylvania power giant Constellation Energy said in a joint statement that the Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear plant, a different unit from the one that led to the infamous nuclear plant’s closure nearly 50 years ago, will be used to provide the tech giant with clean energy as the artificial intelligence (AI) arms race heats up.
Constellation shut down Unit 1 in 2019 due to operating losses. Unit 2 was shut down in 1979 after a core meltdown released radioactive compounds into the environment.
While studies offer various estimates of the number of deaths from radioactive release over a 30-year period, they are often cited as having delayed America’s push for nuclear energy for a generation.
Today, energy has become the new currency for companies investing in artificial intelligence, as data centers need vast amounts of power to perform the complex calculations needed to power artificial intelligence applications. Restarting Unit 1 would put 800 megawatts of power back on the grid, more than the hydroelectric power provided by Hoover Dam.
Amid the broader push for AI data centers, Michigan and Iowa are considering restarting shuttered nuclear plants, and six other states have lifted moratoriums on new nuclear construction.
In a statement, Microsoft’s vice president of energy highlighted the clean energy benefits of reviving the facility.
“This agreement supports Microsoft’s commitment to become carbon negative and marks a major milestone in our efforts to help decarbonize the electric grid,” said Bobby Hollis. “Microsoft continues to work with energy suppliers to develop carbon-free energy sources to meet grid capacity and reliability needs.”
Earlier this week, Microsoft and investment group BlackRock announced a new $100 billion initiative to develop data centers for artificial intelligence. While analysts are still debating what the AI drive has achieved so far, companies around the world see it as the next big business opportunity.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently dismissed doubts about AI’s achievements, comparing it to the trajectory of the Industrial Revolution.
“There wasn’t much growth in industry, and then there was a boom,” he said at a recent conference. “The period from 1817 to the 1940s in the United States was really a golden age.”
