The Three Mile Island Reactor: An Investment for Pennsylvania’s Nuclear Electricity and Advanced Intelligence Resources and the Future of Nuclear Power
What is the best investment for our money? That’s the question we should be asking. We were told: let the marketplace decide. The market decided, and they decided that it wasn’t nuclear, said Eric Epstein of the watchdog group.
This plant was one of the most reliable and safest nuclear plants on the grid before it was temporarily shut down due to poor economics, and we want to bring it back to serve as an economic engine for Pennsylvania.
The working reactor of Three Mile Island was shut down due to lack of demand for other cheaper energy sources after a legislative effort to bail out the plant failed.
Unlike power plants using fossil fuels, like coal or natural gas, nuclear plants do not directly release carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas emissions driving global warming.
Former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates invested $1 billion in a nuclear power plant that broke ground in Kemmerer, Wyo., in June. Gates said that the plant would power homes and Artificial Intelligence.
The nuclear energy industry is a critical part of Pennsylvania’s economy and provides safe, reliable and carbon-free electricity.
The company will need the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s approval to return the plant to online, as well as a number of permits from state and local agencies. A license renewal for plant operations is being pursued by the company.
The deal will bring in $3 billion in taxes and create 3,400 jobs, according to the company. It also said the agreement will add $16 billion to Pennsylvania’s GDP.
The Crane Clean Energy Center: Microsoft’s largest power purchase deal with Constellation Energy and a new site in the 3 Mile Island region
The reactor that Microsoft plans to source its energy from was retired due to an economic problem, while the unit that was shut down after the worst US nuclear accident in history is still in operation. The power generated by the plant that can be reopened by Constellation can power more than 600,000 homes and demonstrate the amount of power needed for data centers.
On Friday, Constellation Energy announced that it had signed its largest-ever power purchase agreement with Microsoft.
Microsoft has agreed to purchase power from the plant — which will be renamed to the Crane Clean Energy Center to honor the late Chris Crane, former CEO of Exelon — for 20 years in a first-of-its-kind deal for the software giant.
After announcing a power purchase deal with Microsoft earlier today, the owner of the Three Mile Island plant will have the site online in less than two decades.