Restart of Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant in the U.S. is imminent following a Microsoft-related agreement.
Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant in Pennsylvania, which was decommissioned half a decade ago, is set to restart operations. Constellation Energy, the current proprietor and previous administrator, sealed a deal with tech titan Microsoft on Friday, with the corporation agreeing to acquire electricity from the facility for the subsequent two decades. As per media outlets, Microsoft is opting for nuclear power in Pennsylvania to sustain its high-energy requirements for advanced AI capabilities.
Commencement of operations is anticipated to start with Reactor Block 1. A partial meltdown in Reactor Block 2 back in 1979 led to the most significant nuclear incident in U.S. history. Fortunately, there were no casualties, and no discernible health issues surfaced among the citizens, albeit around 140,000 individuals were forced to evacuate temporarily. The restoration of Reactor 1 to operation required a six-year timespan, making it the sole active unit in the plant following the incident.
Constellation Energy obtained the plant in 1999. Regardless of holding a license to operate until 2034, the facility experienced financial losses for years before being deactivated in 2019. Reactor Block 1 possesses a capacity of 837 megawatts, capable of powering over 800,000 households, as indicated by the operator. Substantial financial investments are slated for the plant prior to its resumption of operations.
Constellation Energy forecasts the plant's return to operation in 2028. The company asserted that Reactor Block 1 had "managed to operate safely and dependably for decades prior to its closure due to financial considerations five years ago." Microsoft's Vice President Bobby Hollis marked the decision as a "notable landmark" in the corporation's journey towards carbon neutrality.
The deal with Microsoft allows Constellation Energy to restart the operations of The operation, specifically Reactor Block 1. Due to the financial losses, The operation was decommissioned five years ago, but Constellation Energy plans to invest substantially to bring it back online.
