As the demand for artificial intelligence increases, so does the amount of energy required to maintain it. Big tech is investing in nuclear energy, but this raises concerns among experts.
Three Mile Island, an American power plant famous for its 1979 nuclear accident, is reopening its doors. But what is the reason for this change?
Microsoft, thanks to the agreement announced in September with energy giant Constellation Energy, which is a shareholder of this nuclear power plant. It will use the energy obtained from here to power data centers.Constellation Energy has announced that it will ‘rebrand’ the island through a ‘greenwashing’ exercise and rename it ‘Crane Clean Energy Centre’.
“This agreement is a significant milestone in Microsoft’s efforts to become carbon neutral,” said Bobby Hollis, Microsoft’s vice president of energy. Technology giants in recent weeks Google and Amazon also announced that they will use mini nuclear reactors to power data centers. So why is nuclear energy experiencing a resurgence at a time when such facilities are increasingly scarce?
relatively free energy
Microsoft’s use of nuclear energy is part of a renewed U.S. push toward such energy. Graham Peaslee, professor emeritus of physics at the University of Notre Dame, emphasized that the United States will need large farms if it wants to remain “at the forefront of artificial intelligence.” much larger servers, which will require much more power. “The AI of the next century will be driven by these massive IT parks,” he said.
The agreement also provides cost savingsPeaslee said. While the construction of new facilities can cost billions of euros, It is much more profitable to reactivate old ones. The expert predicted that if Microsoft is successful, other companies will follow suit; a prediction already confirmed With subsequent ads from Google and Amazon. “Once a facility is built, it is relatively free energy,” he added.
The relaunch will have economic and environmental impacts. Experts expect Microsoft to make a profit as the success of the project will create enough electricity to power 800,000 homes. The US will likely create thousands of direct and indirect jobs, Hundreds of millions of euros in state tax revenue and more than 800 megawatts of electricity, according to the Pennsylvania State Building and Construction Trades Council.
Attempt to address local concerns
in 1979 Central Pennsylvania was the scene of the worst nuclear incident in US history.The Unit 2 reactor suffered a partial meltdown before being taken out of service. Although some parts of the facility have recovered following the incident, concerns remain about the security of the facility and the viability of Microsoft projects.
While the affected reactor in Unit 2 is still under dismantling, the agreement with Microsoft will mean: reopening of the reactor of Unit 1 of the facilityIt operated safely and independently until 2019.
Radioactive waste management expert Charles McCombie believes the relaunch is a “logical step” for Microsoft: “The technical, physical and health impact of Three Mile Island is greatly exaggerated, especially in the United States,” says McCombie.
The United States is not the only country developing nuclear energy. McCombie confirms that this is an “uptrend” that countries around the world are following: both in the West and in Asia, Africa and South America.
According to McCombie, these countries are all increasing their nuclear fleets for different reasons. “From my perspective as a nuclear energy enthusiast, the most important thing is the environmental one,” McCombie added. “The European Union and governments have finally accepted that nuclear power plants are clean.” This is the last point This is a common conflict among energy experts; Some proponents of McCombie’s arguments and others are reluctant to describe nuclear energy as “clean.”
Is Europe catching up?
Celebrated in Europe in March first Nuclear Energy Summit14 of the 27 EU heads of government met to discuss the future of this type of energy.
During the meeting, former Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said, Development of the EU Nuclear Technologies Law is proposedA legislative text that will try to promote this sector in Europe. The summit became a starting point for taking steps towards the expansion of nuclear energy in Europe.
The European Economic and Social Committee held a conference on 17 October. Evaluate the latest scientific developments in nuclear energy and wasteand we also discuss the possibility of local communities “having a say”.
McCombie stated that interest in nuclear energy has “greatly increased” in recent years and that the United States will not be the only player on the world stage in nuclear energy. data centers An example of this, he said, is Finland: a country that is making progress in eliminating radioactive waste. Only in 2021 Nuclear energy accounts for 33% of total electricity production in FinlandAccording to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
ADVERTThe official added that “geological storage facilities” are currently being implemented to treat the waste produced. These are places like Onkalo: The vault excavated at a depth of 450 m In the bedrock of a Finnish island where spent radioactive rods will be housed for the next 10,000 years.
