Microsoft wants Three Mile Island to meet its AI power needs

Microsoft just signed a deal to reactivate the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. If approved by regulators, the software maker will have exclusive rights to 100 percent of the production for its AI data center.

Constellation, owner of the Three Mile Island facility, announced energy purchase agreement with Microsoft, meaning the site should relaunch in 2028, subject to regulatory approval.

The reactor that Microsoft plans to operate for power was decommissioned in 2019 for economic reasons and is located next to a unit that was closed in 1979 after worst nuclear accident in the us in history. The plant, which Constellation plans to reopen, can generate 837 megawatts of energy, enough to power more than 800,000 homes — a sign of the massive amount of energy needed for data centers and Microsoft’s artificial intelligence ambitions.

Microsoft has agreed to buy power from the plant, which will be renamed the Crane Immaculate Energy Center after the tardy Chris Crane, former Exelon CEO, for 20 years, the first such deal by the software giant.

Microsoft’s greenhouse gas emissions are rising as it focuses on artificial intelligence, threatening the company’s ambitious climate goals. Bloomberg reports that the nuclear power plant will assist Microsoft realize its plans to power its data centers with pristine energy by 2025 and will fuel the expansion of data centers in Chicago, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

“This agreement is an important milestone in Microsoft’s efforts to help decarbonize the grid, supporting our commitment to achieving a negative carbon footprint,” said Bobby Hollis, vice president of energy at Microsoft. “Microsoft continues to work with energy providers to develop carbon-free energy sources to help meet the capacity and reliability needs of the grid.”

Microsoft has recently been betting on next-generation nuclear reactors to power its data center and AI plans, seeking someone to implement its tiny modular reactor (SMR) plan last year. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is also “a big believer in the idea that nuclear power can help us solve the climate problem.”

Constellation is investing $1.6 billion to reactivate the plant, and the company will need approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to restart the facility, as well as permits from state and local agencies. Constellation is also seeking a license renewal to extend the plant’s operations until at least 2054.