Microsoft’s AI Power Needs Could Reopen Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant [Video]

Microsoft announced Friday a blockbuster agreement with electric utility company Constellation to purchase nuclear power for its data centers in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, paving the way to restart a reactor at Pennsylvania’s famed Three Mile Island nuclear power station.

The 20-year deal will bring an estimated 835 megawatts of carbon-free energy to the grid, company representatives said, electricity Microsoft needs to meet surging power demand for the data centers driving the AI boom.

Despite Big Tech’s ambitious targets to reduce the emissions fueling climate change, companies at the forefront of AI development, such as Microsoft and Google, have reported sharp increases in carbon pollution. Microsoft’s latest sustainability report showed aggregate emissions for 2023 were up 29 percent compared to 2020.

In a …