Microsoft would restart Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant to power AI

The demand for data centers is on the rise. And we can only expect this trend to continue with the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), cryptocurrency, and machine learning. Data centers can be incredibly energy intensive to operate, and these facilities are often considered mission critical—they must operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Powering them with traditional fossil fuels can lead to significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Powering them with intermittent, renewable energy sources like wind and solar can lead to unreliability. So, how can we supply data centers with consistent, reliable energy generation? Nuclear power could be the answer.

Recently, Microsoft announced a deal to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. It’s the latest move by a technology company to use nuclear power to provide electricity for energy-intensive data centers and support the use of AI.

Stantec’s Nuclear Lead Jag Singh recently spoke with POWER Magazine about this emerging trend in the nuclear industry. He discusses how nuclear energy could be a solution to meet the high energy demands of data centers, how it provides a strong, reliable baseload generation capacity, and how it can help us reach our decarbonization targets and drive the energy transition forward.

Read the full article in POWER Magazine.