AI Powers Three Mile Island’s Nuclear Plant Back to Life

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[00:00:33] Welcome to Tech News Briefing.

[00:00:36] It's Wednesday, November the 13th.

[00:00:38] I'm James Rundle for The Wall Street Journal.

[00:00:41] Meta is changing how it serves up ads to Facebook and Instagram users in Europe by making them less personal.

[00:00:47] We'll find out what's behind the change and how it could impact the company's business.

[00:00:51] And then, when the Three Mile Island nuclear plant closed five years ago,

[00:00:56] it was a testament to America's ambivalence about nuclear power.

[00:00:59] Now, after striking a deal with Microsoft,

[00:01:02] Constellation Energy is making a $1.6 billion bet that the appetite for power from artificial intelligence will change that.

[00:01:13] But first, we're exclusively reporting that Meta is taking a new approach to Facebook and Instagram ads in Europe

[00:01:20] by giving users the option to make them less personalized.

[00:01:23] The move is in response to pressure from European regulators,

[00:01:26] who say that Facebook's free version in Europe should also have the option,

[00:01:30] just like those who pay a monthly subscription fee to skip ads altogether.

[00:01:35] To explain the situation, and why it might not get Meta out of hot water with European authorities,

[00:01:39] we're joined by WSJ reporter Sam Shekner.

[00:01:43] Sam, why is Meta taking this approach?

[00:01:46] The reason they're doing this is because

[00:01:48] EU regulators have said that they want

[00:01:51] Meta to offer a free version

[00:01:54] of their service that uses less of your data

[00:01:58] about what you do on their services

[00:02:00] to show you ads.

[00:02:02] They say that that's required under EU laws,

[00:02:05] both the privacy law that went into effect in 2018

[00:02:08] and the new digital competition law that they've been enforcing since last year.

[00:02:13] So what's the trade-off for the free version?

[00:02:15] What will these new ads look like and what's the user experience?

[00:02:18] I haven't seen them yet,

[00:02:19] but from what our sources are telling us

[00:02:22] and what Meta then came out and said,

[00:02:25] they're going to be unskippable full-screen ads,

[00:02:28] the sort of thing that you might see on certain websites.

[00:02:31] So they're going to pop up

[00:02:32] and they're going to be based on

[00:02:35] just what you've been looking at in the last browsing session,

[00:02:38] as well as some other data like your age

[00:02:41] and your gender and what city you're in.

[00:02:45] But they're not going to be based on

[00:02:46] the full totality of your activity on the app,

[00:02:51] whether it's Instagram or Facebook.

[00:02:53] What are the concerns from European regulators

[00:02:55] regarding privacy when it comes to personalized ads?

[00:02:58] When it comes to the privacy regulators,

[00:03:01] they pretty much are insisting that

[00:03:03] they want people to have to consent

[00:03:06] before this information is used for personal advertising.

[00:03:10] There are already some kind of consents

[00:03:12] that you give right now.

[00:03:13] In the EU,

[00:03:14] actually, everybody's asked

[00:03:16] if they're okay with their activity

[00:03:17] not on Instagram and not on Facebook

[00:03:19] being used to inform their ads.

[00:03:21] And so you can say yes or no to that.

[00:03:22] And the regulators just have argued

[00:03:25] that under EU law,

[00:03:27] because it's your personal behavior,

[00:03:30] it's your information,

[00:03:31] it's unique to you,

[00:03:32] that you should have the right as a user

[00:03:35] to say,

[00:03:36] no, I don't want you to even use

[00:03:37] what I do inside of Meta's apps,

[00:03:40] inside of Instagram

[00:03:41] and inside of Facebook

[00:03:42] to be used to inform ads.

[00:03:43] And so this has been a long kind of battle.

[00:03:46] Meta has actually gotten pretty frustrated about this.

[00:03:50] And they've tried their best

[00:03:51] to not offer a free option

[00:03:53] because that's effectively

[00:03:55] the core of their business

[00:03:56] is showing targeted ads.

[00:03:58] And so this is one step closer

[00:04:01] to ads that really are based on nothing.

[00:04:04] It's not,

[00:04:04] they call it less personalized.

[00:04:06] It's not unpersonalized ads.

[00:04:08] And so we'll have to see

[00:04:09] if regulators actually say

[00:04:10] this passes muster

[00:04:11] for what they're looking for in the EU.

[00:04:13] Do you think it's likely to pass muster?

[00:04:15] Each time I think this story is over,

[00:04:17] it continues a little longer.

[00:04:18] So I wouldn't be surprised

[00:04:20] if there are more twists and turns.

[00:04:23] Meta, for its part,

[00:04:24] has been making more noise

[00:04:26] about how the fact that they think

[00:04:27] some of these rules

[00:04:28] are going to stifle innovation.

[00:04:31] Our sources have told us

[00:04:32] that they've told regulators

[00:04:33] that this will hurt their bottom line.

[00:04:35] And publicly,

[00:04:36] they talk about how they say

[00:04:38] less personalized advertising

[00:04:39] will hurt small businesses

[00:04:40] that use their platform.

[00:04:42] EU regulators have several more months

[00:04:44] left in this probe

[00:04:45] that they have launched.

[00:04:46] And so it's possible

[00:04:47] that they will say,

[00:04:49] no, you need to sweeten

[00:04:50] your concession offer

[00:04:51] a little bit more.

[00:04:52] That was our reporter Sam Schechner.

[00:04:54] For more of your daily tech headlines,

[00:04:57] check out TMB Tech Minutes.

[00:04:58] That's right here

[00:04:59] in the tech news briefing feed.

[00:05:01] Coming up,

[00:05:02] nuclear power has been in decline

[00:05:04] across the US for years.

[00:05:05] So why is one of the country's

[00:05:07] biggest producers

[00:05:08] making a billion dollar bet

[00:05:09] on resurrecting three mile island?

[00:05:12] Find out after the break.

[00:05:21] Kundenservice contact

[00:05:21] for many people

[00:05:23] is that the best way

[00:05:24] to ruin a nice day.

[00:05:26] But at Zendesk

[00:05:27] we are going to have a better

[00:05:28] customer experience.

[00:05:29] Better for the grandmother,

[00:05:31] better for the florist,

[00:05:32] better for the young man

[00:05:33] in house number 3a,

[00:05:34] better for you,

[00:05:35] better for all.

[00:05:37] Because while some people

[00:05:38] say that the customer

[00:05:39] always has right,

[00:05:39] we say that the customer

[00:05:41] are always people.

[00:05:42] And since we are also people,

[00:05:44] we are something good for us all.

[00:05:46] Zendesk

[00:05:47] Customer Experience with KI

[00:05:48] for Menschen gemacht.

[00:05:55] Pennsylvania's

[00:05:55] Three Mile Island

[00:05:56] nuclear plant

[00:05:57] is best known

[00:05:58] for the 1979

[00:05:59] partial meltdown

[00:06:00] in its second reactor.

[00:06:01] But its first reactor

[00:06:02] continued producing power

[00:06:03] until five years ago,

[00:06:05] when owner

[00:06:05] Constellation Energy

[00:06:06] shut it down.

[00:06:08] Now,

[00:06:08] it's trying to bring it

[00:06:09] back to life.

[00:06:10] WSJ reporter

[00:06:11] Jennifer Hiller

[00:06:12] tells us that

[00:06:12] Constellation and others

[00:06:14] are counting on

[00:06:14] power-hungry AI models

[00:06:16] and data centers

[00:06:17] to drive new demand

[00:06:18] for clean,

[00:06:19] reliable energy

[00:06:20] in the future.

[00:06:21] Constellation has already

[00:06:22] signed Microsoft

[00:06:23] to a 20-year deal

[00:06:24] to supply as much power

[00:06:25] as possible

[00:06:26] from Three Mile Island.

[00:06:27] But the plan

[00:06:28] still faces significant hurdles.

[00:06:30] Jennifer joins us now

[00:06:31] to explain.

[00:06:32] Why did Constellation

[00:06:33] shut down

[00:06:34] Three Mile Island

[00:06:34] five years ago,

[00:06:36] only to reopen it now?

[00:06:37] There's really been

[00:06:38] a complete turnaround

[00:06:39] in the electricity market

[00:06:41] in the last couple of years.

[00:06:43] When Three Mile Island

[00:06:44] shut down,

[00:06:46] you know,

[00:06:46] nuclear was having

[00:06:47] a really hard time

[00:06:48] competing in the open market.

[00:06:50] a lot of plants

[00:06:51] were losing money

[00:06:51] and we were seeing

[00:06:52] a lot of nuclear plants

[00:06:54] closed down

[00:06:54] around that time.

[00:06:56] And since then,

[00:06:58] we have basically

[00:06:59] started to see

[00:07:00] an increased demand

[00:07:01] for electricity.

[00:07:02] And a lot of that

[00:07:03] is coming from

[00:07:04] the tech sector,

[00:07:06] data centers,

[00:07:07] AI,

[00:07:08] and there's all

[00:07:09] this forecasted

[00:07:10] oncoming

[00:07:11] electricity demand.

[00:07:12] Are there any concerns

[00:07:14] from critics around this?

[00:07:15] There are a lot

[00:07:16] of environmentalists

[00:07:17] and land use groups

[00:07:18] and others

[00:07:19] that are watching this,

[00:07:21] as well as consumer groups

[00:07:22] who are concerned

[00:07:23] that costs

[00:07:25] could be shifted

[00:07:26] onto other users

[00:07:27] of the utility system.

[00:07:29] Given Three Mile Island

[00:07:30] has such a vivid history

[00:07:31] with the partial core

[00:07:32] meltdown

[00:07:33] of the Unit 2 reactor

[00:07:34] in 1979,

[00:07:36] securing the sponsorship

[00:07:37] of Pennsylvania Governor

[00:07:38] Josh Shapiro

[00:07:39] was key to getting

[00:07:40] this off the ground.

[00:07:41] What did that involve?

[00:07:43] Constellation Energy

[00:07:44] reached out

[00:07:45] very early in the process

[00:07:46] to the governor's office

[00:07:48] and the CEO,

[00:07:50] Joe Dominguez,

[00:07:51] met with Governor Shapiro

[00:07:52] last December

[00:07:53] for the first time

[00:07:54] in person

[00:07:55] and they went through

[00:07:57] kind of a long conversation

[00:07:59] with lots of detailed

[00:08:00] questions from the governor

[00:08:01] about just everything

[00:08:03] from what is the current

[00:08:05] condition of the plant,

[00:08:06] can you safely restart,

[00:08:07] is this going to cost

[00:08:09] the people of Pennsylvania

[00:08:10] anything,

[00:08:11] or can you do this

[00:08:12] on your own?

[00:08:13] And just a lot of

[00:08:14] detailed questions

[00:08:15] about what this means

[00:08:16] because Three Mile Island

[00:08:18] is a name

[00:08:19] and it's maybe

[00:08:20] the only nuclear plant

[00:08:22] that a lot of people

[00:08:23] in the U.S.

[00:08:23] have heard of before.

[00:08:24] So it does mean something

[00:08:26] in American history.

[00:08:27] This other reactor

[00:08:28] that was undamaged

[00:08:29] continued operating

[00:08:31] until five years ago

[00:08:32] and was safe

[00:08:34] and they,

[00:08:35] you know,

[00:08:35] when they closed it down,

[00:08:36] they actually considered

[00:08:37] this to be

[00:08:38] one of their

[00:08:39] best operating reactors.

[00:08:41] They felt like

[00:08:42] it was well maintained

[00:08:43] and they had invested

[00:08:44] in it over time

[00:08:45] and they had not planned

[00:08:46] on closing this facility.

[00:08:48] So it was really

[00:08:49] an economic shutdown

[00:08:50] and not that

[00:08:51] the plant was starting

[00:08:53] to have issues.

[00:08:54] And how does Microsoft

[00:08:55] figure into

[00:08:56] what's happening now

[00:08:56] with Three Mile Island?

[00:08:58] So Microsoft

[00:08:58] has a lot of data centers

[00:09:00] all over the country.

[00:09:02] They have a lot of clients

[00:09:04] on the East Coast

[00:09:05] and they are among

[00:09:07] the many tech companies

[00:09:09] that are in search

[00:09:10] of more power

[00:09:11] and more data centers

[00:09:13] and they are trying

[00:09:14] to,

[00:09:14] to the extent possible,

[00:09:16] buy clean energy.

[00:09:18] And 24-7 clean energy

[00:09:20] is really difficult

[00:09:22] to find out there

[00:09:23] on the grid.

[00:09:24] And so they view this

[00:09:26] as a way

[00:09:26] that they can add

[00:09:27] clean electrons

[00:09:29] back onto the grid.

[00:09:30] And there is risk here

[00:09:31] for Constellation, right?

[00:09:32] Because they're not getting paid

[00:09:33] until power

[00:09:34] is being generated.

[00:09:35] So what's the key

[00:09:36] for success here

[00:09:37] for Constellation?

[00:09:38] Constellation has a lot

[00:09:39] to manage

[00:09:40] the next couple of years.

[00:09:41] This is a risk for them.

[00:09:43] They've got to spend

[00:09:44] the money

[00:09:44] to bring the plant

[00:09:45] back online

[00:09:46] before they can start

[00:09:47] earning money off of this

[00:09:48] under this agreement.

[00:09:50] And so they need to

[00:09:52] not only make

[00:09:53] all of these investments

[00:09:55] and order equipment

[00:09:56] and kind of get

[00:09:58] the engineering side

[00:09:59] of the plant

[00:10:00] ready in time

[00:10:02] and train

[00:10:02] a fresh round

[00:10:04] of operators

[00:10:04] and have things

[00:10:06] ready on the plant side.

[00:10:07] They are also going

[00:10:09] to have to go through

[00:10:09] maybe some state

[00:10:11] environmental permitting.

[00:10:12] They're going to have

[00:10:13] to go through

[00:10:13] the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

[00:10:15] to be able to bring

[00:10:17] this plant back online.

[00:10:18] They need to do

[00:10:19] a transmission study

[00:10:21] with their grid operator

[00:10:22] PJM interconnection.

[00:10:24] Those can take

[00:10:25] a couple of years

[00:10:26] to do.

[00:10:26] So they're looking

[00:10:28] at maybe some

[00:10:29] fast-tracked

[00:10:30] or expedited

[00:10:31] processes

[00:10:32] for a few

[00:10:32] of these things.

[00:10:33] But they have a lot

[00:10:34] on the regulatory front

[00:10:36] that they need

[00:10:37] to juggle and manage.

[00:10:38] Last week we reported

[00:10:40] that nuclear regulators

[00:10:41] blocked a request

[00:10:42] by Amazon

[00:10:43] and Talent Energy

[00:10:44] to siphon more energy

[00:10:45] from another

[00:10:46] Pennsylvania nuclear plant.

[00:10:48] Generally,

[00:10:48] why are tech companies

[00:10:49] eyeing nuclear power

[00:10:50] in Pennsylvania?

[00:10:51] Pennsylvania is one

[00:10:52] of the states

[00:10:53] with quite a lot

[00:10:53] of nuclear plants.

[00:10:54] So they have a lot

[00:10:56] of nuclear power there.

[00:10:57] The tech companies

[00:10:58] like that pairing

[00:10:59] because nuclear

[00:11:00] is 24-7

[00:11:01] and it's the most

[00:11:03] reliable grid asset

[00:11:04] we have.

[00:11:05] And the data centers

[00:11:06] need to operate

[00:11:07] 24-7

[00:11:08] and really cannot

[00:11:08] ever go offline.

[00:11:10] So they want

[00:11:11] a reliable

[00:11:11] source of power

[00:11:13] that's clean

[00:11:14] that they can match up

[00:11:15] with the way

[00:11:15] that they use energy.

[00:11:17] The Talent Amazon deal

[00:11:18] is a little bit different

[00:11:19] because that data center

[00:11:21] is behind the meter,

[00:11:23] so to speak.

[00:11:23] So it is receiving

[00:11:25] power directly

[00:11:26] from that plant.

[00:11:28] And that's a plant,

[00:11:29] the Talent plant

[00:11:30] is online now.

[00:11:31] It's producing power.

[00:11:33] It never shut down.

[00:11:34] And so

[00:11:35] under that arrangement,

[00:11:36] you would be

[00:11:37] removing electrons

[00:11:39] from the grid

[00:11:40] that are on there now.

[00:11:41] This Three Mile Island

[00:11:43] case

[00:11:43] is one where

[00:11:45] under this deal,

[00:11:46] the electrons

[00:11:47] aren't there now.

[00:11:49] This plant closed down

[00:11:50] a few years ago,

[00:11:50] so they would be adding

[00:11:51] power back onto the grid.

[00:11:53] And it's not

[00:11:54] behind the meter.

[00:11:55] That was our reporter

[00:11:56] Jennifer Hiller.

[00:11:57] And that's it

[00:11:57] for Tech News Briefing.

[00:11:59] Today's show

[00:11:59] was produced by

[00:12:00] Julie Chang

[00:12:01] with supervising producer

[00:12:02] Catherine Millsop.

[00:12:04] I'm James Rundle

[00:12:05] for The Wall Street Journal.

[00:12:06] We'll be back this afternoon

[00:12:07] with TNB Tech Minutes.

[00:12:09] Thanks for listening.