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Three Mile Island, the site of the worst nuclear disaster in the United States, is reopening and will sell power exclusively to Microsoft as the company seeks energy sources to fund its AI ambitions.

Constellation Energy said Friday that its Unit 1 reactor, which was shut down five years ago, is expected to restart in 2028, pending approval from the nuclear regulator. Microsoft will buy the carbon-free energy generated there to power its data centers that support artificial intelligence.

Financial terms of the 20-year deal, which Constellation called its largest ever, were not disclosed.

“Powering industries critical to our nation’s global economic and technological competitiveness, including data centers, requires an abundance of energy that is carbon-free and reliable 24/7. Nuclear power is the only energy source that can consistently deliver on that promise,” said Joe Dominguez, CEO of Constellation, in a press release.

Clean energy advocates and businesses see nuclear as a source of carbon-free energy that provides a reliable baseload source. A major advantage is that, unlike wind and solar, nuclear can remain on 24/7.

However, nuclear energy has been criticized for decades by environmental groups because of its waste. In the United States, there is still no permanent storage facility for this waste; instead, it is stored in over 70 active and decommissioned facilities across the country.

The reopening of Unit 1 will create 3,400 direct and indirect jobs and add more than 800 megawatts of electricity to the grid, according to Constellation, and is expected to increase the GDP of Pennsylvania, where the plant is located, by $16 billion.

Constellation (CEG) shares rose 7% in premarket trading.

Three Mile Island, near Harrisburg, is best known as the worst accident at a commercial nuclear power plant in US history, when a partial meltdown occurred in one of the two reactors. Reactor Unit 2, which is located next to Unit 1, has been closed since the disaster in 1979.

Energy demand is expected to rise sharply as tech giants require more energy sources to meet their AI needs, particularly nuclear energy, which is carbon-free and helps them meet their ambitious climate goals.

This move is also made possible by President Joe Biden’s climate bill, which includes billions of dollars in tax breaks to encourage the development of clean energy from nuclear, in addition to wind, solar and clean hydrogen. The Biden administration and Congress have also poured billions into funding to prevent the closure of old power plants that are slated for closure.

“This agreement is an important milestone in Microsoft’s efforts to help decarbonize the power grid, supporting our commitment to become carbon negative,” said Bobby Hollis, vice president of energy at Microsoft, in the press release.

– CNN’s Ella Nilsen contributed to this report