The accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in 1979 was the most serious in US history. The decommissioned plant is now set to go back into operation. The reason is the growing energy requirements of Microsoft's AI.
Part of the US Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, which was shut down after a serious accident, is to be put back on the grid and supply electricity for energy-intensive AI applications from Microsoft.
The technology group and the utility Constellation Energy announced that they had signed a 20-year power supply agreement to meet the growing energy needs of artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
The restart does not affect Unit 2 of the power plant in Pennsylvania, where a partial meltdown occurred in 1979, but Unit 1, which was only shut down in 2019.
Only reactor 1 was allowed to go back online
The 1979 incident was the most serious nuclear accident in US history. There were no casualties and no demonstrable health consequences for residents. However, around 140,000 people had to temporarily leave their homes. It took six years before reactor 1, the only one in the plant, could be put back online.
Constellation Energy took over the power plant in 1999. In 2019, there was still an operating license until 2034, but the nuclear power plant had been in the red for years and was therefore shut down. Reactor Unit 1 had a capacity of 837 megawatts – according to the operator, enough to supply more than 800,000 households.
Extensive investments planned
According to the information, extensive investments are planned in the plant before it can be restarted. According to Constellation Energy, the power plant is scheduled to start operations in 2028. Reactor Unit 1 “operated safely and reliably for decades before it was shut down exactly five years ago for economic reasons,” the company explained.
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