Microsoft has introduced an power deal to reopen the Three Mile Island nuclear energy plant on the Susquehanna River close to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Constellation Power, the plant’s present proprietor, is now set to convey Unit 1 again on-line for Microsoft. That can contain investing $1.6 billion to revive the reactor by 2028.
Whereas particulars stay unknown, Microsoft reportedly supplied to purchase the plant’s output for 20 consecutive years.
Three Mile Island is finest referred to as the location of probably the most severe nuclear accident in US historical past. In 1979, a partial meltdown occurred in one among its reactors, sparking public worry and mistrust in nuclear energy.
The plant’s Unit 2 reactor, which melted down, was completely closed, however Unit 1 continued working till it was decommissioned in 2019 attributable to competitors from cheaper pure gasoline.
Microsoft says the deal can be pushed by its carbon-negative pledge by 2030. Nuclear power is a zero-carbon energy supply, although there are ongoing controversies over radioactive waste administration.
Constellation Power’s CEO Joseph Dominguez was optimistic concerning the transfer, stating, “This plant by no means ought to have been allowed to close down. It is going to produce as a lot clear power as all the renewables [wind and solar] inbuilt Pennsylvania during the last 30 years.”
Constellation Power acknowledged that “Important investments” should be made within the plant, together with upgrading and renovating the “turbine, generator, most important energy transformer, and cooling and management techniques.”
The rising energy calls for of AI
Microsoft’s resolution to faucet into nuclear energy reveals as soon as once more the staggering power necessities of AI and supporting information middle expertise.
The corporate has been increasing its information facilities worldwide, with many of those amenities devoted to supporting AI workloads, together with the coaching and deployment of fashions that require huge quantities of computational energy.
Coaching massive AI fashions can devour hundreds of megawatt-hours (MWh) of electrical energy.
In keeping with some sources, OpenAI’s GPT-3, as an example, required over 1,200 MWh to coach, which might energy tens of hundreds of houses for a day.
Tons of, if not hundreds, of highly effective AI fashions are actively being skilled at anyone time right now. AI fashions require energy not simply throughout coaching but in addition for day-to-day operations.
This surge in power demand from AI is a part of a broader development. The Worldwide Power Company (IEA) estimates that information facilities at present account for 1.3% of world electrical energy consumption, and that is set to rise considerably, with AI infrastructure driving a lot of the rise.
By 2030, information facilities might devour as much as 8% of the world’s electrical energy, additional straining power grids already stretched skinny by growing reliance on digital companies and electrical automobiles.
Coal and nuclear to take up the slack
Whereas the concentrate on nuclear power highlights the tech business’s want for low-carbon options, AI’s demand for energy is remarkably respiration new life into coal.
In keeping with a Bloomberg report from earlier within the 12 months, the speedy enlargement of information facilities is delaying the shutdown of coal vegetation throughout the US, defying the push for cleaner power sources.
In areas like Kansas Metropolis, for instance, the development of information facilities and electrical automobile battery factories has compelled utility suppliers to halt plans to retire coal vegetation.
Microsoft’s resolution to energy its AI operations with nuclear power brings the broader dialog of AI sustainability into sharp focus.
With the tech business’s progress outpacing power provides, modern options are wanted to bridge the hole between demand and manufacturing. OpenAI, for instance, has actively invested in Helion, a nuclear fusion venture set to come back on-line quickly.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated on X, “If Helion works, it not solely is a possible approach out of the local weather disaster however a path in the direction of a a lot greater high quality of life. Have liked being concerned for the final 7 years and excited to be investing extra.”
Regardless of its controversies, nuclear energy gives a reputable answer to AI’s power calls for, notably in areas struggling to transition absolutely to renewable power.
However the stakes are excessive. Constructing and sustaining nuclear vegetation nonetheless requires immense sources, and nuclear waste is difficult to get rid of. Many will see this as trivializing decarbonization and renewable power methods.
We should always say that that is nonetheless early days for the Microsoft-Constellation Power deal.
Nonetheless, unique, personal offers like this are exceptionally uncommon, displaying how energy within the AI business hinges on energy within the literal sense.
