Plan would power new #Microsoft #AI #DataCenter with electricity from Pa.'s #ThreeMileIsland #nuclear reactor
Constellation Energy is prepared to invest $1.6 billion to bring the plant's surviving reactor from the 1979 meltdown back online.
By Michael Tanenbaum, PhillyVoice Staff
September 20, 2024
Excerpt: "Tech companies favor nuclear power for AI
"In the race to develop artificial intelligence applications, tech companies are scrambling to build data centers, which require enormous amounts of electricity to operate. Such facilities are forecast to make up a growing share of the nation's electricity use in the years to come, prompting companies to look at tapping into existing infrastructure to help meet their needs.
"#NuclearPower is being touted as a cost-effective solution for these data centers that also limits reliance on carbon-producing power sources. Building and directly connecting data centers to nuclear plants is known as co-location, a strategy that industry leaders favor because it's cheaper and faster to do. Proponents also claim it reduces stress on the transmission grids.
[...]
"When Constellation signaled interest in restarting Three Mile Island in July [2024], doubts surfaced about the technical feasibility of the project. Not only would it be the first of its kind, but it will have to be accomplished next to another reactor whose clean-up and decommissioning is expected to continue through 2078.
"The site also remains politically contentious due to the lasting memory of the 1979 accident, which displaced surrounding communities and left a legacy of fear over whether the #radiation released contributed to increased #cancer rates in the vicinity. About 2 million people were exposed to #RadioactiveFallout as a result of the meltdown.
"Public health researchers from Temple, Penn State and the University of Pittsburgh published a report last year finding that long-term studies into the impact of the meltdown were limited by research flaws."
Read more:
https://www.phillyvoice.com/ai-three-mile-island-microsoft-constellation-nuclear-reactor-data-centers/
#WaterIsLife #NuclearPowerPlants
#NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #BigTech #NuclearWaste #RethinkNotRestart #NuclearIsNotCarbonFree #Pennsylvania #CancerRates