In the late 1970s, the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in the US state of Pennsylvania experienced the worst nuclear incident in US history. The partial meltdown of one of the two reactors caused panic among the population and authorities. Although there were no casualties or major damage, the situation led to scepticism about the risks of producing this type of energy – which worsened substantially seven years later with the Chernobyl accident in the former Soviet Union.
Now, the massive energy needs of AI have led Microsoft to sign a 20-year deal with Constellation Energy to restart the plant’s undamaged reactor, which remained in operation until 2019 before being shut down for good due to lack of economic viability. The restart, which is expected to be completed in 2028, will cost Constellation $1.8 billion. When the plant reopens, it will be renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center. Following the deal, Constellation Energy shares have soared more than 20%.
The deal will allow Microsoft to expand its plans for the development of Artificial Intelligence, feeding the gigantic energy needs of the company’s data centers. Although there are still concerns about the use of atomic energy, the modernization of the technology allows for an uninterrupted and carbon-free energy source that, paradoxically, helps meet climate goals.
Bobby Hollis, Microsoft’s vice president for energy, said the deal “is an important milestone in Microsoft’s efforts to decarbonize the grid.” Constellation CEO Joe Dominguez said in a statement that data centers “require an abundance of energy that is carbon-free, and nuclear power plants are the only energy sources that can consistently deliver on that promise.” He dismissed concerns about the plant. “It’s the best-performing reactor in our fleet and without a doubt the best-performing reactor in America,” he said in an interview quoted by the WSJ.
When it shut down, the Three Mile Island reactor was licensed to operate until 2034. Now, it will need to obtain state and local permits, as well as approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which could be a lengthy process. But Microsoft hopes that AI’s pressing energy needs could speed up the process.
This isn’t Microsoft’s first foray into nuclear power. The tech giant already uses Constellation power at a Virginia data center when renewable wind and solar power aren’t available, and has signed a deal for fusion power, which it believes will be available later this decade.
The company founded by Bill Gates is not the only technology company looking to source nuclear energy for its projects. Amazon Web Services, Amazon’s cloud division, bought a data center in March that will be powered by the Susquehanna nuclear plant, also in Pennsylvania. Oracle recently announced that a new data center will be powered by three smaller nuclear reactors.
Source: www.jornaldenegocios.pt
