NEW YORK/WASHINGTON : Constellation Energy and Microsoft plan to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, hoping they have scored a quick source of enough climate-friendly energy to power rapidly expanding data centers for artificial intelligence (AI).
U.S. power generation capacity through the end of the decade could rise by about 2.4 per cent to 2.7 per cent, according to an analysis of the most recent available U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, from late 2022. Data center power use is expected to more than double by 2030 to consume about 9 per cent of all the country’s electricity.
Tech companies are scrambling to meet a surge in energy demand from data centers to power generative AI. But tapping the nuclear system involves regulatory hurdles, possible supply-chain snags, sometimes stiff local opposition and scrutiny from water authorities concerned about healthy reservoirs.
In March, 1979, Three Mile Island made global headlines with a partial meltdown at its Unit 2 reactor. The reopening plan covers the Unit 1 reactor at the Pennsylvania plant, which operated safely for decades before being closed five years ago.
The $1.6-billion plan would restart Unit 1 by 2028 to offset Microsoft’s data-center power consumption in the region. It is the latest deal between a technology company and a nuclear-power provider. In March, Talen Energy agreed to sell a data center to Amazon.com next to Talen’s nuclear plant, which operates elsewhere in Pennsylvania.
More nuclear contracts for data centers are in the works, power industry sources say. But each tech-nuclear deal is unique and comes with its own challenges.
“Nobody has done this before,” said Kate Fowler, global nuclear energy leader for Marsh, an energy insurance broker and risk advisor, about Three Mile Island’s attempted restart. “There’s going to be challenges that pop up.”
Supply-chain bottlenecks have cropped up since Three Mile
