Unit 1, which is distinct from Unit 2, which melted down in 1979, has been closed for the past five years due to financial difficulties.
Under a new energy-sharing arrangement with Microsoft, a portion of Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island nuclear facility will be brought back online. Microsoft intends to utilize the energy to power the data centers it runs as part of its drive toward artificial intelligence.
As the artificial intelligence arms race heats up, Microsoft and Constellation Energy—the primary utility in Pennsylvania—said in a joint release that Three Mile Island Unit 1, a different unit from the one that caused the historic shutdown almost fifty years ago, will be used to supply clean energy to the tech behemoth.
In 2019, Constellation closed Unit 1 as a result of operational losses. Following the 1979 event, which saw a partial core meltdown and the discharge of radioactive chemicals into the environment, Unit 2 was shut down.
The number of people who died as a result of the radiation leak over 30 years has been estimated in a variety of ways by studies, but it is frequently stated that the United States push toward nuclear energy was put back for a generation.
The new currency for businesses investing in artificial intelligence these days is energy. This is due to the massive power requirements of the data centers that are responsible for processing the intricate computations required to fuel artificial intelligence applications. Restarting Unit 1 will require reintroducing 800 megawatts of power into the system, which is more than the Hoover Dam’s hydroelectric output.
During the larger push toward AI data centers, other closed nuclear factories are being considered for reactivation in Michigan and Iowa, while moratoriums on new nuclear plant construction are being lifted in six other states.
In a statement, Microsoft’s vice president of energy praised the facility’s benefits for renewable energy.
In support of our goal to become carbon negative, this deal represents a significant turning point for Microsoft’s efforts to help decarbonize the grid, according to Bobby Hollis. “In order to help meet the grids’ capacity and reliability needs, Microsoft continues to collaborate with energy providers to develop carbon-free energy sources.”
Microsoft and finance firm BlackRock unveiled a new $100 billion project earlier this week to create data centers for artificial intelligence. Although experts continue to disagree about the achievements of the AI movement thus far, businesses throughout the globe view AI as the next big commercial opportunity.
Rejecting worries about artificial intelligence’s potential, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently likened the technology to the course of the Industrial Revolution.
At a recent conference, he stated, “There was not that much industrial growth, and then it took off.” “1817 in the United States to the 1940s was just one of those golden ages.”