Three Mile Island set to reopen for Microsoft data centers

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Amit Thomas Interim Vice President for Human Resources and Talent Development | Illinois Institute Of Technology

Three Mile Island set to reopen for Microsoft data centers

The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, known for a partial meltdown in 1979, is set to reopen. Located near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the plant was shut down in 2019 due to decreasing electricity demand. However, the rise of artificial intelligence has led to a surge in energy needs.

Jeff Terry, a physics professor at Illinois Institute of Technology, explains that "a ChatGPT search takes about 10 times the amount of energy as a Google search." He notes that as AI becomes more prevalent, energy demands will increase significantly. The challenge is finding ways to meet this growing demand.

Microsoft has chosen to address this by partnering with Constellation Energy to reopen Three Mile Island and purchase all its generated electricity. Although the reactor involved in the past incident will remain inactive, reopening the plant presents significant cost savings.

This initiative marks an unprecedented move towards reactivating closed nuclear facilities. After Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Michigan began its restart process in 2023, there appears to be a shift towards increasing nuclear power usage in the U.S.

Terry highlights the uniqueness of this development: "This is the front of this trend. This has absolutely never happened before," he says. He adds that it is "going to be much cheaper than building a brand-new nuclear plant or giant wind farm or giant solar panel with batteries."

"For [the companies], it’s an incredible bargain," Terry concludes.

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