Three Mile Island 1979 Meltdown Crippled US Nuclear For 50 Years
On March 28, 1979, one of the reactors at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant suffered a partial meltdown. Some radioactive material leaked. Luckily, no one was hurt. However, the public saw nuclear energy as a deadly threat, and the US atomic energy programs were nearly killed for almost 50 years. Energy-hungry AI server farms have sparked renewed interest in a green energy source. Microsoft is working to make Three Mile active again.
Microsoft is one of several megatech companies and startups at the center of the AI explosion. This has two challenges. One is the race for the company that will use the AI products. The other is the search for electricity, America does not have nearly enough for new AI severe farms. The growth of wind and solar energy has slowed. There is even a chance that coal will make a comeback to fill in as a fuel.
Smaller Reactors
One reaction to Three Mile Island is that people still do not want reactors located anywhere near their homes. One solution may be small module reactors, which are less “dangerous.” Americans will need to turn to some form of nuclear power if they want to run their AC all day long during the summer.
After several decades during which the US demand for energy barely grew, solutions to rapidly growing technology leave very few options.
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