Microsoft reopens Three Mile Island
Long-dated PPAs as capex substitutes
In one of the most remarkable corporate transactions of the modern energy era, Microsoft has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement to revive the shuttered Unit 1 reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear facility. The deal will deliver 835 megawatts of dedicated, carbon-free baseload energy to power Microsoft’s expanding artificial intelligence data centres.
Nuclear Power as Capex Substitute
The transaction marks a profound paradigm shift: tech titans are no longer passive buyers of grid electricity; they are actively financing the resurrection of commercial nuclear energy infrastructure. By locking in twenty years of dedicated baseload power at premium tariffs, Microsoft is substituting long-term balance-sheet commitments for direct utility capex. The race for AI dominance has officially merged with the nuclear energy sector.
Microsoft’s revival of Three Mile Island proves that artificial intelligence compute demand has transcended silicon chips to become the defining catalyst of the global nuclear energy renaissance.