America’s Three Mile Island nuclear vitality plant, the positioning of a high-profile accident that discouraged nuclear energy improvement within the US for many years, is getting ready to reopen as Microsoft appears for tactics to fulfill its rising vitality wants.
The tech big mentioned it had signed a 20-year deal to buy energy from the Pennsylvania plant, which might reopen in 2028 after enhancements.
The settlement is meant to offer the corporate with a clear supply of vitality as power-hungry information centres for synthetic intelligence (AI) broaden.
The plan will now go to regulators for approval.
The proprietor of the plant, Constellation Energy, mentioned the reactor it deliberate to restart was adjoining to, however “fully independent” of the unit that had been concerned within the 1979 accident, the worst in US historical past.
It triggered no accidents or deaths nevertheless it provoked widespread worry and distrust among the many US public.
But nuclear energy is the topic of renewed curiosity as considerations about local weather change develop – and corporations face elevated vitality wants tied to advances in synthetic intelligence.
In an announcement asserting the deal, Constellation boss Joe Dominguez mentioned nuclear vegetation have been the “only energy sources” that might constantly ship an abundance of carbon-free vitality.
“Before it was prematurely shuttered attributable to poor economics, this plant was among the many most secure and most dependable nuclear vegetation on the grid, and we sit up for bringing it again with a brand new identify and a renewed mission,” he mentioned.
Microsoft known as it a “milestone” in its efforts to “assist decarbonize the grid”.
On 28 March, 1979, a combination of mechanical failure and human error led to a partial meltdown at the nuclear power plant in central Pennsylvania.
The accident occurred about 04:00 in the Three Mile Island plant’s second unit.
The plant’s Unit 1 – which would reopen under the Microsoft deal – continued to generate power until closing in 2019.
Its owner at the time, Exelon, which spun out Constellation as an independent business in 2022, said the low cost of natural gas extraction had made nuclear-generated electricity unprofitable.
Constellation said it would invest $1.6bn (£1.2bn) to upgrade the facility, which it would seek approval to operate through 2054.
Reopening the plant would create 3,400 direct and indirect jobs and 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.
Local media reported earlier this month that word of its possible revival had drawn some protesters.
Microsoft is not the only tech company that is turning to nuclear power as its energy needs expand.
Earlier this yr, Amazon additionally signed a deal which entails buying nuclear vitality to energy an information centre. Those plans are actually underneath scrutiny by regulators.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx25v2d7zexo