U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright visited the Susquehanna Valley to discuss the reopening of the nuclear facility at Three Mile Island, emphasizing its potential to address energy demands and economic benefits. The reopening of Reactor Unit 1, with its 835-megawatt capacity, is expected to help meet the power demand from data centers. The targeted reopening would occur in 2027.Wright was joined by leaders from Constellation Energy and Microsoft, the latter of which has entered a 20-year agreement to purchase power to offset the demand for artificial intelligence services. A $1 billion loan from the federal government will expedite the reopening of the reactor, which was closed in 2019 for economic reasons.”We got to get companies to lean in and take a little bit more risk. Yes, but the more load growth we have from manufacturing or data centers, the more we can push down electricity prices,” Wright said.The reopening is also anticipated to bring back jobs to the area and generate revenue for local governments and Dauphin County. “It is an economic driver for Pennsylvania. So, we’re seeing that. And that’s not taxes, as far as real estate or a pilot program. It’s the taxes from the employees. It’s in taxes from the company itself. I mean, there’s a lot involved here,” said Rep. Tom Mehaffie, R-District 106.However, some have raised concerns about the safety and economic viability of reopening the facility, which saw the worst commercial nuclear disaster in American history in 1979 when the facility’s other reactor — not involved in the reopening went through a nuclear meltdown. “We think data centers are overhyped. We know the energy is here in Pennsylvania to supply them, and we need to get our priority straight. Are we going to be Pennsylvania first or everyone else first?” said Eric Epstein of TMI Alert.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright visited the Susquehanna Valley to discuss the reopening of the nuclear facility at Three Mile Island, emphasizing its potential to address energy demands and economic benefits.
The reopening of Reactor Unit 1, with its 835-megawatt capacity, is expected to help meet the power demand from data centers. The targeted reopening would occur in 2027.
Wright was joined by leaders from Constellation Energy and Microsoft, the latter of which has entered a 20-year agreement to purchase power to offset the demand for artificial intelligence services. A $1 billion loan from the federal government will expedite the reopening of the reactor, which was closed in 2019 for economic reasons.
“We got to get companies to lean in and take a little bit more risk. Yes, but the more load growth we have from manufacturing or data centers, the more we can push down electricity prices,” Wright said.
The reopening is also anticipated to bring back jobs to the area and generate revenue for local governments and Dauphin County.
“It is an economic driver for Pennsylvania. So, we’re seeing that. And that’s not taxes, as far as real estate or a pilot program. It’s the taxes from the employees. It’s in taxes from the company itself. I mean, there’s a lot involved here,” said Rep. Tom Mehaffie, R-District 106.
However, some have raised concerns about the safety and economic viability of reopening the facility, which saw the worst commercial nuclear disaster in American history in 1979 when the facility’s other reactor — not involved in the reopening went through a nuclear meltdown.
“We think data centers are overhyped. We know the energy is here in Pennsylvania to supply them, and we need to get our priority straight. Are we going to be Pennsylvania first or everyone else first?” said Eric Epstein of TMI Alert.
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