Microsoft and Constellation Energy are reviving the decommissioned nuclear power plant in the USA

The Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant, located near Harrisburg and infamous for the partial meltdown of its reactor core on March 28, 1979, which led to the closure of Unit 2, is set to resume energy production. Constellation Energy will restart the reactor at Unit 1, which has been offline for the past five years.

According to the plan, the plant will rejoin the power grid in four years, with Microsoft as the sole purchaser of the produced energy, which will be used for artificial intelligence development projects. This investment is expected to create 3,400 new jobs and contribute an additional $16 billion to Pennsylvania’s GDP. “This agreement is a milestone in Microsoft’s efforts to decarbonize the grid and supports our commitment to achieving net negative carbon emissions. Microsoft continues to work with energy providers to develop emissions-free energy sources to help meet the grid’s transmission and reliability needs,” said Bobby Hollis, Vice President of Energy at Microsoft.

The decision to reactivate the plant is made possible, in part, by President Joe Biden’s climate law, which includes billions in tax credits to support clean energy sources like nuclear, wind, solar, and clean hydrogen. The Biden administration and Congress have also allocated billions of dollars to support the continued operation of closing plants. The financial aspect is emphasized—reactivating a plant is much cheaper than building a new one from scratch.

Three Mile Island Could Set a Precedent for Nuclear Plant Resurrections

As Alan Ahn, Deputy Director of Nuclear Energy at the think tank Third Way, points out, there are not many precedents in the U.S. for restarting closed nuclear plants, but this trend is beginning to change. A case in point is the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan, which was slated for closure, but with over a billion dollars in federal support, it was kept operational.

As technology companies seek new energy sources to meet their needs for artificial intelligence, nuclear power, which is stable and emissions-free, is increasingly being considered. However, the restart of Three Mile Island still requires various federal, state, and local permits, and the financial terms of the 20-year agreement, which Constellation Energy calls the largest in its history, are not yet known.

Source: theguardian.com