Microsoft has emerged as a leader in securing reliable, carbon-free electricity to meet growing energy demand. It has signed long-term agreements including a 20-year power purchase agreement with Constellation Energy to restart the Crane Clean Energy Center, formerly known as the Three Mile Island Unit 1, in the USA and signed one of the first deals with fusion energy technology company Helion, through a long-term power purchase agreement.
“Microsoft’s membership with the Association is a game-changing moment for our industry,” said World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León. “When one of the world’s most innovative technology companies recognises nuclear energy as essential to their carbon-negative future, it sends a powerful signal to markets, policymakers, and industry leaders worldwide. This partnership will accelerate nuclear deployment at the scale needed to meet both climate goals and the growth in energy demand from data centres.”
Melissa Lott, leader of Microsoft’s Energy Technology team, said the company’s World Nuclear Association membership reflects a “strategic moment” as the technology industry works to meet its carbon-free energy goals. “When you combine Microsoft’s technological capabilities with the nuclear industry’s proven track record of delivering reliable, carbon-free baseload power, you create the foundation for unprecedented innovation in carbon-free energy technology deployment,” she said.
“Nuclear energy isn’t just part of the technology sector’s energy strategy – it’s essential to it,” Bilbao y León said. “Microsoft joining the Association allows greater collaboration between one of the major energy users and the nuclear industry to address the regulatory, technical, and financial challenges to accelerate nuclear deployment. The global nuclear industry isn’t just generating electricity; we’re energising technology.”
The announcement came as the World Nuclear Association-hosted Symposium 50: Energizing the Future Now began in London.
