Microsoft Taps Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant To Power AI (yahoo.com)
- Reference: 0175092145
- News link: https://slashdot.org/story/24/09/20/156206/microsoft-taps-three-mile-island-nuclear-plant-to-power-ai
- Source link: https://www.yahoo.com/news/microsoft-taps-three-mile-island-140704827.html
> The tech giant on Friday signed a major deal with nuclear plant owner Constellation Energy to restart its closed Three Mile Island plant by 2028 to power its data centers. The Constellation plant, infamous for melting down in 1979, closed in 2019 after failing to garner enough demand for its energy amid competition with cheaper alternatives like natural gas, and solar and wind power. Constellation said it plans to spend $1.6 billion to revive its reactor, pending regulatory approval. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Microsoft agreed to purchase all of the power from the reactor over the next 20 years, a Constellation spokesperson told TechCrunch. Once restored, the reactor promises a capacity of 835 megawatts.
[1] https://www.yahoo.com/news/microsoft-taps-three-mile-island-140704827.html
meltdown??? (Score:3)
No, three mile island didn't have a meltdown. It had a partial meltdown and then operators didn't respond properly to the issue and some systems failed... releasing radioactive gases and iodine into the air... Which was the actual, real effect that caused problems.
Had those systems not failed and the operators performed correctly, well, it would have been managed and no bad result happen, but it was these cascading errors that caused the issues leading to that partial meltdown and then release of those radioactive substances.
The partial meltdown wasn't really the actual problem, it was more a reaction to the failed systems and operators not doing the right thing (partially due to those failed systems)
Huh? (Score:2)
If Three Mile Island lost out to wind and solar in 2019, what's the incentive to reopen it in 2028? It's not like wind and solar are getting more expensive.
Re: (Score:3)
First it actually lost out to natural gas which was selling at a loss in order to shutdown the plant. Rates increased significantly after it was shutdown.
Second solar and wind is intermittent. So if you want clean electricty you will need nuclear.
Third only building solar and wind guarantees a place on the grid for fossil fuels.
Germany spent 700 billion euros and failed. They are at 400 g CO2 per kWh. That's dirtier than Texas.
"The analysis of these two alternatives shows that Germany could hav
Re: (Score:1)
Nuclear isn't depended on the weather and time of day.
unimaginable amounts of energy, (Score:3)
"The data centers that train all the large language models behind AI consume unimaginable amounts of energy,"
I don't consider a gigawatt unimaginable...
We're way past 'ridiculous' (Score:3)
All this 'AI' garbage just plain has to stop.
100 words of chat GTP (Score:3, Informative)
Requires three bottles of water. [1]https://www.tomshardware.com/t... [tomshardware.com]
I suspect the article above is a exaggeration but probably not by that much. Also your electric bill is going to be higher the pay for all this electricity.
At some point we need to start deciding if this is how we want to live. Corporations continue to do antisocial things that hurt us directly and we continue to just kind of let them do it because something something something freedom.
Like the old saying goes, you're right to swing your fist ends at my nose. Honestly it should probably end quite a bit sooner.
[1] https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/using-gpt-4-to-generate-100-words-consumes-up-to-3-bottles-of-water-ai-data-centers-also-raise-power-and-water-bills-for-nearby-residents
Re: (Score:2)
That water can be reprocessed waste water from our toilets. And it can be retained.
Can be != Is (Score:2)
the water used in data centers has to be very clean and pure, so reprocessing toilet water costs extra money.
If a corporation has to decide between a few million in water processing costs and you getting to take showers I wonder which one they'll pick...
Re: (Score:2)
Exactly, not every business model has to be respected as viable becasue the business owner says it should be. If you can't afford water reprocessing maybe your model here is in need of correction.
Like whenever minimum wage laws come tot he news somebody always says "Businesses can't afford that! They'll shut down!" and like, maybe? But at the same time if I had a business that could only exist if I pay people $0.50/hr I think people would rightfully tell me "your business model doesn't work, you should clo
Re: (Score:2)
Not troll. Wish I had a moderation point to give you for 'insightful' or 'informative'.
All this 'AI' stuff is just crap. They've invested billions, foolishly thinking they could create a digital consciousness, and all they've accomplished is making a very large, very flawed, very resource-wasting version of 'Eliza', and now they've desperately trying to force it down our throats so their stockholders and investors don't cut off their heads.
It's all an even bigger waste of resources than cryptocurrency and
Re: (Score:2)
> Requires three bottles of water. [1]https://www.tomshardware.com/t... [tomshardware.com] I suspect the article above is a exaggeration but probably not by that much. Also your electric bill is going to be higher the pay for all this electricity. At some point we need to start deciding if this is how we want to live. Corporations continue to do antisocial things that hurt us directly and we continue to just kind of let them do it because something something something freedom. Like the old saying goes, you're right to swing your fist ends at my nose. Honestly it should probably end quite a bit sooner.
For some strange reason, the corporations have convinced world governments that they are *THE* saviors of humanity. Every horrible thing they do to the entire planet is considered necessary to get to this shiny, bright, glorious future that they've decreed they will create for *all* of us. Of course, in the meantime they're tearing us all apart, leaving large swaths of people penniless, broken, or outright dead.
AI is the next bit of their ongoing fantasy. Of course we have to let them suck up resources even
[1] https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/using-gpt-4-to-generate-100-words-consumes-up-to-3-bottles-of-water-ai-data-centers-also-raise-power-and-water-bills-for-nearby-residents