Microsoft's recent deal with Constellation Energy to reopen a portion of the Three Mile Island nuclear site is turning heads among energy analysts — and not just because of the location.
Reuters reports that the tech giant may be willing to pay top dollar for abundant nuclear energy for its power-hungry data centers. What's more, the move could help the company to meet its carbon-reducing energy goals in coming years while revitalizing a site most known for the terrible meltdown that happened there decades ago, according to multiple news sites.
A Sept. 20 Constellation news release introduces the project in Middletown, Pennsylvania, as the Crane Clean Energy Center. Constellation's stock jumped 22% after the news was made public. And Microsoft is reported to be willing to pay the utility up to $115 per megawatt-hour through two decades. That's a premium when compared to market expectations, all per Reuters.
"This agreement is a major milestone in Microsoft's efforts to help decarbonize the grid in support of our commitment to become carbon negative," Bobby Hollis, vice president of energy, said in the release.
Goldman Sachs estimates that data centers around the planet use up to 2% of worldwide electricity. Analysts there expect the demand to grow up to 160% by the end of the decade.
"Powering industries critical to our nation's global economic and technological competitiveness, including data centers, requires an abundance of energy that is carbon-free and reliable every hour of every day, and nuclear plants are the only energy sources that can consistently deliver on that promise," Constellation CEO Joe Dominguez told NPR.
It's part of reported commitments from tech companies to juice more of their data operations with carbon-reducing options. TechCrunch notes that Amazon and Alphabet plan to eventually use all "green" energy to run data centers. Meta recently inked a deal with a solar developer for electricity generation, as well.
While nuclear is not perfect, as evidenced by Three Mile Island's history featuring a meltdown scare that made major headlines in 1979, the overall forward-thinking news from Microsoft to develop more low-carbon energy is an encouraging addition. It's also important for consumers to keep tabs on these large businesses to make sure they fulfill their commitments. Microsoft's artificial intelligence growth is already jeopardizing some of its clean-energy goals, according to Bloomberg.
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The United States has 54 operating nuclear plants. Part of Three Mile Island was shut down after the 1979 disaster, and the facility was shuttered in 2019 as part of a business decision, Reuters reports.
Beyond the historical context of past nuclear accidents and overall safety concerns, some scientists caution against investing in more nuclear instead of renewable energy, which is cheaper per kilowatt generated and even safer. According to EnergySage, "nuclear power is nearly 10 times more expensive to build than utility-scale solar on a cost-per-KW basis."
That said, proponents of nuclear argue that a move like this one by Microsoft is more akin to flipping a switch back on that can replace huge totals of energy that may otherwise come from coal or natural gas facilities, while also leading to many ongoing full-time jobs. The Constellation statement says the project will create 3,400 jobs, generating more than $3 billion in government taxes, among other economic benefits.
Outside of AI usage, data requests, and overall web navigation, it's worth noting that our devices and accessories can suck up a lot of electricity too. Even unused chargers and other ports can consume power when left in an outlet. Unplugging these so-called energy vampires can save you around $165 a year while conserving power.
A little outlet savviness can also help to reduce the amount of heat-trapping air pollution plaguing the planet in numerous ways, as noted by NASA.
For its part, Microsoft claims to be all in on its cleaner-energy effort.
"Microsoft continues to collaborate with energy providers to develop carbon-free energy sources to help meet the grids' capacity and reliability needs," Hollis stated.
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