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     Nuclear power enjoyed popularity in the 1970s and many of the currently operating U.S. reactors date from that period. However, cost overruns, schedule delays and several serious nuclear accidents cooled that popularity in the following decades. In one of the more surprising comebacks in recent memory, nuclear power is back in the headlines. Its new popularity is being fueled by rising demand for clean energy.
     Microsoft recently made headlines by announcing a deal with the operators of Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island to provide carbon-free fuel to help power its data centers. Three Mile Island was the site of the nation’s worst nuclear accident.
     The Biden administration followed the Microsoft announcement on Monday by announcing that it has finalized a loan to reactivate the shuttered Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan over local objections. Representative Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) said “An American nuclear energy resurgence is beginning,” in a statement after the Microsoft deal was announced.
     If that is true, the resurgence is being driven by the technology industry’s demand for clean energy to fuel artificial intelligence and data centers. These facilities are on track to take an increasing share of the nation’s overall power demand in coming years at a time when there is pressure to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
     Recent Gallup polls found that public support for nuclear energy is the highest it’s been in a decade. But public support by itself isn’t going to be enough to overcome the complications of reopening nuclear facilities that fell out of vogue decades ago or getting new plants built. This is especially true in light of the delays and cost overruns that plagued construction of the recently completed Vogtle project in Georgia.
     But Big Tech money just might fuel the nuclear resurgence as cutting-edge companies push their AI dreams as climate positive. Meta has indicated support for nuclear power, and Amazon signed an agreement last March to buy a nuclear-powered data center.
     The fact that nuclear’s comeback is being fueled by some of the world’s wealthiest corporations is raising concerns among some experts. David Hess is a former Pennsylvania secretary of environmental protection who lived a dozen miles away from Three Mile Island during its 1979 meltdown. He is particularly critical of the Microsoft deal. He commented that “Fundamentally, it’s 1960s technology. It’s the only U.S. design of a nuclear power plant that failed catastrophically. So people better go into this with their eyes open, especially because it’s being restarted not for public benefit, but for the private benefit of one company.”
     Facing diminishing low-carbon options as solar and wind power continue to be brought online, states across the country are taking nuclear power seriously as a part of their energy plans. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro wants a rapid permitting process to reopen Three Mile Island. Governor Kathy Hochul is talking up nuclear power in New York State. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin is recommending nuclear power as a cornerstone of his energy agenda. And California Governor Gavin Newsom worked hard to save California’s last remaining nuclear plant.
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