NEW YORK: US nuclear plant Three Mile Island, the site of the worst nuclear accident in the history of America, is set to resume operations in a deal to sell power to Microsoft, said Constellation Energy on Friday.
The firm said the 20-year pact would involve the restart of the Unit 1 reactor, which operated at industry-leading levels of reliability and safety for decades before being shut down for economic reasons five years ago.
The Unit 1 reactor was not involved in the 1979 nuclear meltdown at the site in Pennsylvania.
According to US media reports Microsoft will use the energy to fuel its AI capabilities, a rapidly growing sector that requires massive amounts of power. Constellation Energy announced that the reactor would go back online in 2028.
“This agreement is a major milestone in Microsoft’s efforts to help decarbonize the grid in support of our commitment to become carbon negative,” said Bobby Hollis, vice president of energy at Microsoft.
United States into panic when, on March 28, 1979, Three Mile Island’s Unit 2 reactor partially melted down.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission termed it the most serious accident in the commercial nuclear power plant operating history of the United States, although its small radioactive releases had no detectable health impacts on plant workers or the public.
