Microsoft plans to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant that narrowly avoided disaster

Microsoft is in the middle of a deal to restore the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, according to a report by the The Washington Post. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because the Pennsylvania plant was home to a meltdown at one of its reactors back in 1979.

The deal will make Microsoft the sole customer of the plant for 20 years, meaning it will collect 100 percent of the power itself. Why does the company need so much juice? You can guess. It’s for AI, which is notoriously power-hungry. Look, if it takes an entire nuclear power plant to be able to ask Bing to pull up a picture of Steve Urkel in space riding a skateboard, we should do it. The future… whatever.

Let’s break it down in more detail. If the deal is approved by regulators, Three Mile Island will provide Microsoft with enough energy to power 800,000 homes. Again, no homes will be getting that power, but don’t worry. Microsoft will be able to hold a live streaming event to show off new AI video production tools or something.

I know I’m coming off as a real troglodyte here, but there is a silver lining. This could help Microsoft meet its promise of enabling zero-emission AI development. It’s not like these companies are going to stop using AI if there isn’t a decommissioned nuclear power plant sitting around, so this move could help ease the strain already placed on our power grid by creative artificial intelligence.

If approved, this would be the first agreement of its kind for several reasons. The power plant has never worked for just one client before. It will also be the first time a decommissioned power plant has come back online. It is worth noting that this institution was closed five years ago due to economic reasons, not related to the collapse of the sector since 1979.

“The energy industry cannot be the reason for China or Russia to beat us with AI,” said Joseph Dominguez, CEO of Constellation, the company that owns the industry. I would take his jingoistic language with a grain of salt, however, as Constellation stands to make a lot of money from this deal.

Let’s do the math. Annual revenue from the nuclear power plant averages $470 million. Microsoft will be the exclusive buyer of this power for 20 years, amounting to $9.4 billion. Constellation is spending $1.6 billion to get the plant back up and running, along with federal subsidies and tax breaks provided by the Inflation Recovery Act. This leaves $7.8 billion in sweet, sweet profits. That’s just a guess, but you get the idea. The company is pledging $1 million in “regional supply” over the next five years. That’s $200,000 a year.

This is not a done deal. There are many regulatory hurdles that Constellation will have to jump over. This includes strict safety inspections from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which has never approved the reopening of the plant. There may also be an investigation into those tax breaks mentioned above, since all the power goes to one private company and does not use all the communities. But come on. Steve Urkel skateboards in space.

On the other hand, Constellation will need about 600 workers to run the plant, according to New York Times. Jobs are good. Also, the company says it won’t seek additional funding from Pennsylvania. The Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan is looking to reopen for business, but plans to service the local grid and not the AI ​​gap.