Three Mile Island

AI boom resurrects US nuclear zombie

The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant

(Bild: APA/Getty Images via AFP/GETTY IMAGES/CHIP SOMODEVILLA)

The boundless hunger for energy of generative artificial intelligence (AI) is resurrecting an industrial colossus with an inglorious history near the small town of Middletown in the US state of Pennsylvania: The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant is put back into operation because the Microsoft Group urgently needs electricity.

The nuclear power plant was the scene of the most serious nuclear accident in US history in 1979. Some are celebrating the economic blessing of the nuclear renaissance for the region. Others, such as many local residents, are concerned.

The chairman of the BCTC trade union federation, Robert Bair, sees nuclear power as an excellent source of energy. Coal-fired power plants are being shut down all over the country, and gas as an energy source is under attack, says Bair. "You need base load power. And nuclear power is probably the most efficient baseload source we have." The restart of Reactor 1 will benefit all of Pennsylvania. Bair anticipates the creation of 3,400 jobs and three billion dollars (2.85 billion euros) in tax revenue for the surrounding communities.

Partial core meltdown in reactor 2 in 1979
The nuclear accident at the Three Mile Island (TMI) power plant on the river island of the same name near Middletown and Harrisburg made headlines around the world 45 years ago. On March 28, 1979, a partial core meltdown occurred in reactor 2, causing radioactive gases to escape. Around 140,000 people fled the surrounding area or were evacuated.

At times, there were fears of a nuclear disaster of unprecedented dimensions, which ultimately failed to materialize. The worst, the bursting of the reactor vessel, was prevented, but the incident highlighted the dangers of nuclear power and led to stricter regulations for power plant operators. While the accident reactor 2 was dismantled in the years that followed, reactor 1 was reconnected to the grid six years after the accident. It was finally shut down in 2019 because the plant had been in the red for years.

Power from reactor unit 1 again from 2028
The AI revolution and the competition between internet giants such as Microsoft to further develop generative AI are creating a new chapter in the history of Three Mile Island. Generative AI systems such as chatbots, image generators or language models are extremely power-hungry, and the data centers of the corporations have gigantic energy requirements. In September, TMI operator Constellation Energy signed a contract with Microsoft, the largest shareholder of AI pioneer OpenAI. From 2028, the company will be able to draw electricity exclusively from reactor unit 1, which will then be reactivated, for 20 years.

Bart Shellenhamer from the municipality of Londonderry, to which Three Mile Island belongs, says that the plant has been "a good neighbor to the community of Londonderry and the surrounding area" since it was commissioned in 1974.

Local residents against reopening
For others, the horror of spring 1979 has not been forgotten. "Most residents want the plant to remain closed," says Matthew Canzoneri from the town council in Goldsboro, the community on the opposite bank of the Susquehanna River from Three Mile Island. "The energy generated there does not directly benefit the communities, and given TMI's history, there is definitely cause for concern."

Even today, local residents accuse the authorities of playing down the incident at the time. Some studies show that in the years following the accident, the rate of lung, thyroid and blood cancer in the region was above average. However, none of these studies established a direct link to the accident.

I lost many classmates to various forms of cancer.

Anrainerin Maria Frisby

Local resident Maria Frisby was still a teenager in 1979. She didn't think reopening the plant was a good idea, saying the partial meltdown at Three Mile Island was much worse than the authorities admitted at the time. "I lost many classmates to various cancers who died in their 50s," says the 60-year-old. For her, the connection with the accident is beyond question.

Union boss Bair points out that a distinction must be made between reactor units 1 and 2. Block 1 had been the most efficient plant in the country for years. The power plant had a capacity of 837 megawatts, enough to supply more than 800,000 households.

Eric Epstein from the non-profit organization EFMR, which monitors the radiation emitted by TMI, points to the unresolved nuclear waste problem. The operator wants to continue to store the spent fuel elements on the island. "It's a pact with the devil," says Epstein. "You get electricity for a moment and radioactive waste forever."