{
  "id": 15599456,
  "title": "America Tries Reviving Shuttered Nuclear Plants - Partly to Help Power Data Centers",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/america-tries-reviving-shuttered-nuclear-plants-partly-to-help-power",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-19T11:34:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Slashdot",
    "slug": "slashdot",
    "url": "https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/26/10/19/0448253/america-tries-reviving-shuttered-nuclear-plants---partly-to-help-power-data-centers"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The United States is attempting to revive three previously closed nuclear power plants to address growing energy needs, according to the Los Angeles Times. Two of these plants have agreements with major technology firms that will provide them with a premium rate for substantial amounts of clean energy intended for data centers. No commercial nuclear reactor has ever restarted after entering the decommissioning phase, though some have resumed operation following extended periods of inactivity. The Department of Energy is prepared to allocate up to $4.4 billion to restart the Palisades Power Plant in Michigan, the Crane Clean Energy Center at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island, and the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa, which will generate a combined 2.25 gigawatts of electricity - sufficient to power approximately 2 million homes and businesses. These plants were shuttered primarily because their electricity was deemed too costly. Restarting a reactor is an expedient method to produce substantial electricity and is more economical than constructing a new, large-scale reactor, according to nuclear engineering expert Todd Allen. Edwin Lyman of the Union of Concerned Scientists emphasized that taxpayer funds should instead be directed towards addressing safety concerns, noting that most U.S. plants were constructed between 1970 and 1990 and were designed to endure natural disasters from that era. Furthermore, climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, which could jeopardize the safety of these facilities. While the Department of Energy is providing financial assistance, it appears that safety measures are not being prioritized. NextEra Energy and Google are working together to restart the Duane Arnold reactor by early 2029, while Microsoft has contracted the Crane Clean Energy Center at Three Mile Island, which was the site of the United States' most severe commercial nuclear power accident in 1979. Constellation Energy, the reactor's operator at that time, shut down the operational reactor in 2019 due to financial losses and a lack of subsidies from Pennsylvania lawmakers. In 2024, Constellation Energy announced plans to invest $1.6 billion to restart the reactor under a 20-year agreement with Microsoft, with an aim to bring it back online by 2027. Palisades is anticipated to be the first nuclear plant globally to resume operation after initiating decommissioning.",
  "summary": "America is \"making an unprecedented attempt to revive three shuttered nuclear plants to meet rising energy demand,\" reports the Los Angeles Times, \"Two of the plants have contracts with Big Tech companies that will pay a premium to get large amounts of carbon-free energy for data centers...\" No commercial nuclear reactor is known to have resumed generating electricity after beginning the…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}