When you buy through affiliate links in our content, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn 
The CEO of Constellation Energy Corp. says the US must learn from China and build power plants adjacent to data centers.
AI’s increasingly high energy demands warrant data centers being located close to power plants, a technique that China has adopted, according to the top brass at Constellation Energy Corp. Joe Dominguez, chief executive at the American power company, said the approach reduces transmission losses and circumvents power line load limitations.
Dominguez told Bloomberg that there is a shortage of transmission wires in the US and that the actual availability of electricity may fall behind the humongous energy demands created by AI processing centers.
The company believes that while demand is up across sectors, AI’s sudden surge, especially since ChatGPT broke onto the scene, “drove the load projections.” This led to the perception that nuclear power, among other green energy sources, was essential to meeting AI demands, to the point of belief that “without nuclear, it wouldn’t happen,” the executive said.
The executive also warned that the US needs to be prepared to deal with the climate crisis while ensuring the country succeeds in AI. Nuclear, therefore, will be a key driver in meeting energy demands.
Constellation’s Nuclear Deal with Microsoft
Constellation recently inked a deal with Microsoft to revive Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island nuclear power plant to meet the latter’s processing power needs. The company is set to pump $1.6 billion into rebooting Unit 1 of the nuclear plant that has been defunct since 2019.
Notably, Unit 2 of the nuclear plant suffered from what is known as the USA’s largest commercial nuclear accident after a reactor core partially melted, leaving over two million people exposed to radiation. The first reactor, which Constellation now owns, continued to operate despite the accident until 2019, when former owner Exelon said it could not continue operations without state-funded subsidies.
Following the deal, Microsoft is expected to be the sole recipient of the power from this plant. Investment firm Jefferies previously told Reuters that the tech giant is also believed to pay a premium for each megawatt-hour (MWh) of power supplied as part of its 20-year purchase price agreement. The shift to nuclear power is part of Microsoft’s commitment to clean energy and a carbon-neutral future as it bolsters its AI processing capabilities.
