Three Mile Island, a three-mile nuclear power station near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, has been closed since 2019. Now the island will reopen in 2028 to power Microsoft’s data centers, which are fundamental to the tech giant’s AI and cloud computing businesses.
Constellation Energy, the owner of the electric power unit, announced a 20-year deal on Friday, which involves Microsoft buying power from the restored plant. Restarting the plant means investing $1.6 billion to renovate it, make sure everything is up to date, and get the necessary permits and licenses. The benefit is significant though – the facility could create 3,400 new jobs directly and indirectly, and add $16 billion to Pennsylvania’s GDP.
Microsoft’s decision to turn to nuclear power is a sign of the high costs required to develop AI. According to Bloomberg, AI has increased demand for carbon-free electricity — and Microsoft’s move to buy nuclear power for 20 years, the first deal a tech giant has signed of its kind, is the latest step to meet that demand.
Three Mile Island. Credit: Getty Images
Since the agreement was announced, opinions have been mixed about how to proceed. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro supports the agreement and wants it to be “prompted.” However, residents of Perry County, Pennsylvania, wrote letters to this newspaper noting that the problem of nuclear waste or byproducts should be resolved before the facility opens.
Related: How Much Does It Cost to Develop and Train AI? A lot.
Dr. Michael Goff, acting deputy secretary of the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, said the restart is “a significant milestone.”
“Sustainable, carbon-free nuclear power plays an important role in combating climate change and meeting the nation’s growing energy needs,” Goff said.
Three Mile Island was once known as the site of the worst accident in the history of US commercial operations. In March 1979, part of the power plant melted and released small amounts of radioactivity. The incident prompted major regulations and led to less public trust in nuclear power in the following decades, although no injuries, deaths, or long-term health effects were observed from the accident.
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