Fri Sep 20 12:32:00 UTC 2024: ## Three Mile Island to Reopen, Powering Microsoft’s AI Data Centers
**Pennsylvania** – In a move that has raised eyebrows and sparked debate, Three Mile Island, the site of the worst nuclear disaster in U.S. history, is set to reopen. Constellation, the facility’s owner, will invest $1.6 billion to restart the plant, which will power Microsoft’s AI data centers under a new 20-year contract.
The plant was shut down in 2019 due to economic reasons, but Constellation CEO Joseph Dominguez argues that its closure was a mistake. “The energy industry cannot be the reason China or Russia beats us in AI,” he said. “This plant never should have been allowed to shut down.” He claims that the plant will produce as much clean energy as all the renewable energy producers built in Pennsylvania over the past 30 years.
While the 1979 meltdown at Unit 2 has cast a long shadow, Constellation insists that the plant is safe. The company says that Unit 1, which will be reopened, operated at “industry-leading levels of safety and reliability for decades” before being shut down. They attribute any negative perception to unfair bias against nuclear power, a technology they believe is clean and safe.
Microsoft shares this assessment, emphasizing the agreement’s role in their commitment to becoming carbon negative. “This agreement is a major milestone in Microsoft’s efforts to help decarbonize the grid,” said a Microsoft spokesperson.
The reopening of Three Mile Island would be unprecedented, as no decommissioned U.S. nuclear power plant has ever been brought back online. However, Constellation claims that inspections reveal the facility to be in excellent condition. The company also plans to leverage federal subsidies and tax breaks from the 2022 Inflation Recovery Act to offset the costs of restarting the plant.
The project could create between 600 and 3,400 new jobs in the area and generate $3 billion in state and federal taxes. The plant will produce 835 megawatts of power, enough to power over 700,000 homes, and will be renamed Crane Clean Energy Center.
The success of this project could pave the way for the reopening of other decommissioned nuclear power plants, such as those in Michigan and Iowa, potentially playing a significant role in the burgeoning AI era. However, the project faces regulatory hurdles, and the public’s response to the reopening of a site with such a troubled history remains to be seen.
First Piper 