Three Mile Island was closed because it wasn't economical to operate. Now Microsoft wants it restarted in the hopes it can one day supply carbon-free energy for its datacenters. Walter Bibikow/Getty Images hide caption
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The Three Mile Island nuclear plant is seen in March 2011 in Middletown, Pa. Jeff Fusco/Getty Images hide caption
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, is seen in the background of the shallow Kakhovka Reservoir after the dam collapse, in Energodar, Russian-occupied Ukraine, on June 27, 2023. LIBKOS/AP hide caption
A section of aluminium coils from one of Helion's fusion machines. The company hopes its next-generation Polaris system will produce more electricity than it consumes. Geoff Brumfiel/NPR hide caption
Companies say they're closing in on nuclear fusion as an energy source. Will it work?
This aerial picture shows tanks used for storing treated water at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. Japan began releasing wastewater from the plant into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday despite angry opposition from China and local fishermen. Jiji Press/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Worries over seafood safety mount as Japan releases Fukushima water into the Pacific
Storage tanks for contaminated water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are near capacity. Philip Fong/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
5 things to know about Japan's Fukushima water release in the Pacific
The interior of the Savannah remains a time capsule of the mid-century era in which it operated. The main lobby of the cruise ship welcomed paying passengers from 1962 to 1965. Meredith Rizzo for NPR hide caption
Step inside the world's only nuclear-powered passenger ship — built in 1959
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, is seen in the background of the shallow Kakhovka Reservoir. Water levels in the reservoir have been falling rapidly after a critical dam collapsed. Kateryna Klochko/AP hide caption
A Ukrainian nuclear plant is facing a water shortage
Water vapor rises from the nuclear power plant Isar II in Essenbach, Germany, on March 3, 2022. Armin Weigel/AP hide caption
This July 24, 2008 photo shows the Monticello nuclear power plant in Monticello, MN. In November 2022, the plant confirmed a 400,000 gallon leak of water containing tritium and reported it to officials. The leak wasn't known to the public until Thursday. Karen Bleier/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, pictured here in October, has operated with emergency power sources six times since Russia's offensive started. Carl Court/Getty Images hide caption
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is seen on March 17. Japan on Thursday adopted a new policy promoting greater use of nuclear energy to ensure a stable power supply amid global fuel shortages and reduce carbon emissions — a major reversal of its phaseout plan since the Fukushima crisis. Shohei Miyano/Kyodo News via AP, File hide caption
The facility uses powerful lasers to compress fuel pellets. The result is nuclear fusion, the process that powers the Sun and the world's largest nuclear weapons. Don Jedlovec/LLNL/NNSA hide caption
U.S. reaches a fusion power milestone. Will it be enough to save the planet?
The Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power plant at the edge of the Pacific ocean in San Luis Obispo, Calif., as seen on March 31, 2015. Michael Macor/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images hide caption
Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, arrives in a hotel with a delegation in Zaporizhzia, Ukraine, on Aug. 31. The delegation will travel to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant amid the Russia-Ukraine war. Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images hide caption
What inspectors will look for at Ukraine's war-damaged Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant was scheduled to be shuttered in 2025. But California Governor Gavin Newsom now wants to expand its lifespan. Michael Macor/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images hide caption
A Russian serviceman patrols Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station on May 1. A series of exchanges in recent weeks has made conditions at the plant more dangerous. Andrey Borodulin/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant shut down in 2019. Exelon Generation blamed the closure on a lack of state subsidies. Such subsidies are growing amid concerns that such closures abet climate change. Matt Rourke/AP hide caption
For one day in March, wind generated electricity surpassed coal and nuclear, and became second only to natural gas. Wayne Parry/AP hide caption
Video analysis reveals Russian attack on Ukrainian nuclear plant veered near disaster
A screen grab captured from a video shows a view of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant during a fire following clashes around the site in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images hide caption
Video footage showed a fire — later extinguished — at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after it came under Russian shelling early Friday. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images hide caption
Following the nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl plant in 1986, a protective dome was built over the destroyed fourth reactor. Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice gives his State of the State speech in the House Chambers in January. Chris Dorst/Charleston Gazette-Mail/via AP hide caption