Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Reopens for Microsoft: NPR

Three Mile Island, the nuclear power plant near Middletown, Pennsylvania, that was the site of the worst commercial nuclear accident in U.S. history, will reopen to power Microsoft’s data centers responsible for the tech giant’s cloud computing and artificial intelligence programs.

Constellation Energy, which describes itself as America’s largest producer of “clean, carbon-free energy” announced on Friday that it had signed its largest power purchase agreement to date with Microsoft.

“Powering industries critical to our nation’s global economic and technological competitiveness, such as data centers, requires an abundance of energy that is carbon-free and reliable 24/7. Nuclear power is the only energy source that can consistently deliver on that promise,” said Joe Dominguez, President and CEO of Constellation Energy.

The deal will create about 3,400 jobs and generates more than $3 billion in state and federal taxes, the company said. It was also said that the agreement would increase Pennsylvania’s GDP by $16 billion.

The agreement is for 20 years and the facility is scheduled to reopen in 2028. It will be renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center in honor of Chris Crane, who died in April and served as CEO of Constellation’s former parent company.

“Pennsylvania’s nuclear energy industry plays a critical role in providing safe, reliable, carbon-free electricity that helps reduce emissions and grow Pennsylvania’s economy,” said Governor Josh Shapiro.

Unlike power plants that use fossil fuels such as coal or natural gas, nuclear power plants do not emit carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases that drive global warming.

The meltdown at Three Mile Island occurred on March 28, 1979, when the cooling system of one of the plant’s two reactors failed. The reactor, which is being restarted to power Microsoft’s data centers, was not involved in the accident.

Steam rises from the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, on March 26, 2019.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

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“Before its premature closure for economic reasons, this plant was one of the safest and most reliable nuclear power plants on the grid. We look forward to bringing it back online under a new name and with a renewed mission to serve as an economic engine for Pennsylvania,” Dominguez said.

However, some activists in the state fear that the costs of reopening the plant will have to be passed on to taxpayers, StateImpact Pennsylvania reported.

“What would be a better investment for our money? That’s the question we should be asking. We were told: Let the market decide. The market has decided, and it has decided it is not nuclear energy,” said Eric Epstein of the watchdog group Three Mile Island Alert.

The operating Three Mile Island reactor was shut down in 2019 after a legislative attempt to save the plant failed because it could not keep up with demand for other, cheaper sources of energy.

Former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates invested $1 billion in a nuclear power plant that began construction in June in Kemmerer, Wyoming. The plant will power homes and AI, Gates told NPR’s Steve Inskeep.

Editor’s note: NPR’s recent financial backers include Constellation Energy and Microsoft.