Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant Could Power Microsoft Data Centers

A proposal from Constellation Energy and Microsoft to restart a unit of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant faces a series of regulatory hurdles before the project could become a reality. 

According to a Reuters article, Unit 1 of the plant was retired in 2019 for financial reasons. “Constellation plans to spend about $1.6 billion to revive the plant, which it expects to come online by 2028.” Last year, nuclear plants produced almost one-fifth of total U.S. electricity.

“A relaunch of Three Mile Island, which had a separate unit suffer a partial-meltdown in 1979 in one of the biggest industrial accidents in the country's history, still requires federal, state and local approvals,” the article notes. Constellation has not yet filed an application to restart the plant, but a deal with Microsoft signals momentum.

Tech companies are eyeing nuclear energy as one way to meet the rapidly growing demand for energy for data centers and artificial technology applications. Under its deal with Constellation, Microsoft will buy power from the Three Mile Island plant for 20 years. Microsoft also recently signed a similar deal with Washington-based fusion company Helion, while a deal between Amazon and Talen Energy is being challenged by a group of utilities who allege that the deal could reduce the reliability of the grid or raise costs for consumers.