Three Mile Island, known as the site of the worst nuclear disaster in American history, is preparing to restart, and Microsoft will be among the first to harness its energy.
The company has signed a data center contract with Constellation Energy to help revive a unit at a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, the companies announced Friday, marking the first-ever restart of its kind.
Microsoft has signed a 20-year agreement to buy all the energy the revived reactor produces, helping to power the company's growing AI needs.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“Powering industries that are critical to our global economic and technological competitiveness, including data centers, requires carbon-free, reliable and abundant energy every hour of every day,” Constellation CEO Joe Dominguez said in a statement.
“Nuclear power plants are the only energy source that can consistently deliver on that promise.”
The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Friday it has not yet received an application to restart the reactor. If approved by the NRC, the plant would be restarted by 2028.
Constellation said the reopening is expected to create 3,400 jobs and pump $16 billion into the state's economy.
Additionally, more than 800 megawatts of power will be added to the grid, helping to meet growing energy demand.
Constellation shares soared 22%, while Microsoft shares fell less than 1%.
The rise of big tech companies has led to a surge in U.S. demand for electricity to power the data centers needed to support the expansion of technologies such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
Nuclear energy, which produces virtually no carbon emissions and is widely considered more reliable than sources such as solar and wind, has become a popular choice for technology companies looking to tackle the climate crisis in need of uninterrupted power.
“This agreement supports our commitment to become carbon negative and marks a major milestone in Microsoft's efforts to help decarbonize the electric grid,” said Bobby Hollis, vice president of Energy at Microsoft.
But not everyone is rooting for him.
Environmental groups have criticized nuclear energy for decades, mainly over concerns about radioactive waste, and the United States still has no permanent site for the waste piling up at the country's more than 70 nuclear power plants.
Despite the controversy, nuclear energy is gaining momentum as a reliable source of energy, especially as wind and solar power face limitations.
While Unit 1 prepares to be restarted, its neighbor, Unit 2, has been permanently shut down since 1979, after the meltdown that made Three Mile Island famous.
