Because of artificial intelligence, it is retaining all of the energy for itself.
It has been reported by The Washington Post that Microsoft is now in the process of negotiating a contract that would result in the revitalization of the iconic nuclear power facility located at Three Mile Island. In 1979, the Pennsylvania plant was the location of a partial meltdown of one of its reactors, which is the reason why the term may seem familiar to you.
Because of the agreement, Microsoft would be the only customer of the plant for a period of twenty years, which would mean that it would consume one hundred percent of the power for itself. Is there a reason why the corporation requires so much juice? You know what to do. It is because artificial intelligence is famously power hungry. Look, if it takes an entire nuclear power plant for us to be able to ask Bing to create an image of Steve Urkel riding a skateboard in space, then we have no choice but to do it. It is the future… or whatever it may be.
We’re restarting Three Mile Island Unit 1 as the new Crane Clean Energy Center! Through a 20-year agreement, Microsoft will use the energy from the renewed plant to help match the power its PJM data centers use with carbon-free electricity. 🧵
— Constellation (@ConstellationEG) September 20, 2024
More info⬇️https://t.co/NfKGdJgMA0 pic.twitter.com/z9ydxDXw1U
Let’s take it to a more granular level. On the condition that this transaction is sanctioned by the relevant authorities, Three Mile Island will supply Microsoft with sufficient energy to power 800,000 homes. Even though no homes will receive such electricity, you shouldn’t be concerned about it. It will be possible for Microsoft to host a live streaming event in order to demonstrate some terrifying new artificial intelligence video generating tools or anything like.
There is a bright side to this situation, despite the fact that I am aware that I am coming across as a complete and utter troglodyte. It is possible that this will assist Microsoft in fulfilling its commitment to fuel the development of artificial intelligence with electricity that emits no emissions. It is not as if these corporations would give up on artificial intelligence if there was not a nuclear power plant that had been decommissioned hanging around, so this step could assist alleviate some of the burden that is already being placed on our electricity infrastructure as a result of artificial intelligence.
This would be a deal that has never been done before for a few different reasons, if it were to be allowed. Until now, a commercial power plant has never been used only for the benefit of a single customer client. Moreover, this will be the very first time that a power plant that has been decommissioned has been brought back online. It should be brought to your attention that the facility was shut down for economic reasons five years ago, and this has absolutely nothing to do with the partial meltdown that occurred in 1979. It is currently anticipated that it will resume operations by the year 2028.
In a statement, Joseph Dominguez, chief executive officer of Constellation, the firm that owns the plant, stated that “the energy industry cannot be the reason China or Russia beat us in artificial intelligence.” On the other hand, I would take his jingoistic comments with a grain of salt because Constellation stands to make an incredible amount of money from this transaction.
How about we do some math? A nuclear power plant generates an annual profit of approximately $470 million on average. For a period of twenty years, Microsoft will be the exclusive purchaser of this energy, which will amount to a total of $9.4 billion. In addition to the federal subsidies and tax advantages that are granted by the Inflation Recovery Act, Constellation is spending $1.6 billion to get the plant back up and running. This leaves a profit of $7.8 billion, which is really delicious. Those are simply some educated guesses, but you get the general idea. Over the course of the next five years, the corporation has committed to “philanthropic giving to the region” in the amount of one million dollars. It comes to $200,000 per year.
. @GovNuclear pic.twitter.com/cs73c76QVL
— Constellation (@ConstellationEG) September 20, 2024
The deal is not yet finalized. The Constellation will have to overcome a great deal of regulatory obstacles in order to be successful. This includes stringent safety checks carried out by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which has never given its approval for a plant to commence operations again. It is also possible that an investigation will be conducted into the tax breaks that were noted earlier, given that all of the energy is being supplied to a single private corporation rather than being distributed to entire communities. Come on, though. In orbit, Steve Urkel is seen riding a skateboard.
As a positive development, the New York Times reports that Constellation will require approximately 600 workers in order to successfully operate the plant. This is a good job. Additionally, the corporation has stated that it will not be requesting any extra financing from the state of Pennsylvania. At the same time, the Palisades nuclear facility in Michigan is attempting to restart for business. However, it intends to provide service to the local grid rather than the vast abyss of artificial intelligence.