Three Closed Nuclear Plants in the U.S. Reopening for AI Data Centers

In an unprecedented move, the United States aims to restart three previously shuttered nuclear plants—Palisades in Michigan, Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, and Duane Arnold in Iowa—to meet rising electricity demand and supply energy for large-scale artificial intelligence data centers.

Three Shuttered Nuclear Plants

The United States is working to revive three closed nuclear plants to meet growing energy demand. Within this scope, the Palisades plant in Michigan, the Crane Clean Energy Center at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, and the Duane Arnold energy center in Iowa are being reconsidered.

Having been shut down before their license terms expired, these three facilities were taken offline at the time due to generating electricity at high costs. Now, with the reactivation of these facilities, electricity is planned to be supplied to millions of households and workplaces.

Billions of Dollars in Loan Support

The Department of Energy is providing up to $4.4 billion in loans to these three facilities in order to reintroduce a total of 2.25 gigawatts of electrical capacity back into the system. This move offers a capacity capable of meeting the energy needs of approximately 2 million homes and businesses.

Experts state that the restart process is both a faster and more economical way compared to building a new nuclear reactor from scratch. The government is also providing billions of dollars in loans to increase the capacity of existing operational nuclear plants.

The Role of Major Technology Companies

Two of the facilities to be reopened have signed special contracts with major technology companies for the supply of carbon-free energy. These companies have agreed to pay a premium to meet the massive energy needs of their data centers.

Intensive efforts are being made by the administration to deploy nuclear power in line with the energy demands of the artificial intelligence and manufacturing sectors.

Planned Opening Dates of the Facilities

Duane Arnold, Iowa's sole nuclear facility, had closed early in 2020 after being damaged by a storm. In cooperation with NextEra Energy and Google, the facility is planned to resume operations in early 2029.

Meanwhile, the Palisades facility, which was acquired by Holtec International and had its dismantling process initiated, must return to service by March 2027. The reactor at the Three Mile Island facility, which has a contract with Microsoft, aims to open in 2027 with a $1.6 billion investment.