美国正在为重启三座已进入永久关闭状态的核电站提供资金支持。这些项目有望为数据中心扩大无碳电力供应，同时也将加剧关于安全和补贴的争论。
The United States is financing efforts to restart three nuclear plants that entered permanent closure. The projects could expand carbon-free supply for data centres while intensifying safety and subsidy debates.
据印度新闻社《新闻信托》报道，美国正试图重启三座已开始关闭的核电站，以满足大型数据中心和其他行业不断增长的用电需求。
The United States is attempting to restart three nuclear power plants that had begun shutting down, as it seeks to meet rising electricity demand from large data centres and other industries, according to a report by news agency Press Trust of India.
美国能源部将向密歇根州的帕利塞德核电站、宾夕法尼亚州三哩岛的克兰清洁能源中心以及爱荷华州的杜安阿诺德能源中心提供最高44亿美元的贷款，以实现重启。这三座电站合计可发电2.25吉瓦，足以供大约两百万户家庭和企业使用。
The US Department of Energy is lending up to USD 4.4 billion to revive the Palisades Power Plant in Michigan, the Crane Clean Energy Centre at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island and the Duane Arnold Energy Centre in Iowa. Together, they could generate 2.25 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power about two million homes and businesses.
目前尚未有商业核反应堆在进入永久关闭程序后恢复发电的先例，尽管有些反应堆在长时间停运后曾重新启动。这三座美国核电站均在许可证到期前关闭，主要原因是其发电成本被认为过高。
No commercial nuclear reactor is known to have resumed generating electricity after entering the process of permanent closure, though some reactors have restarted after long outages. All three US plants closed before their licences expired, largely because the electricity they generated was considered too expensive.
目前，这三座电站中的两座已与愿意为此支付更高费用的大型科技公司签订合同，以获取大量无碳电力用于数据中心。特朗普政府也在推动核能用于人工智能和制造业，并提供数十亿美元贷款用于升级运行中的核电站，以提高其输出能力。
Two of the plants now have contracts with major technology companies willing to pay more for large amounts of carbon-free electricity for data centres. The Trump administration is also promoting nuclear power for artificial intelligence and manufacturing and lending billions of dollars for upgrades to increase output at operating nuclear plants.
核工程专家托德·艾伦表示，与建造一个新的大型反应堆相比，重启一个反应堆是获取大量电力的一种相对快速且成本较低的方式。他说：“全国对更多电力有需求。” “这些资产之前已经并网运行，之前也是可操作的，与其他选择相比，你可以相对较快地让它们重新发电。对于任何想要零碳的人来说，核能可以提供这一点。对于真正想要核能的特朗普政府而言，这也符合这一叙事。”
Nuclear engineering expert Todd Allen said restarting a reactor was a relatively quick and less expensive way to secure large amounts of electricity compared with building a new, large reactor. "There's a demand in the country for more power," he said. "You have these assets that were previously hooked up. They were previously operable, and you can relatively quickly get them generating electricity again, compared to your other possibilities. For anyone who wants zero carbon, nuclear provides that. For the Trump administration, which really wants nuclear, this fits that story also."
艾伦是密歇根大学工程学院研究副院长，他将这一过程比作重新启动一辆闲置数年的汽车。司机仍需持有有效驾照，且所有部件必须正常工作。他说：“他们正试图对这些核电厂这么做，但这是一个更大、更复杂的系统。”
Allen, associate dean for research at the University of Michigan's College of Engineering, compared the process with restarting a car that has been idle for several years. The driver still needs a valid licence and all the parts must work correctly. "That's what they're trying to do with these nuclear plants, but it's a much bigger, complicated system," he said.
厂商必须重新召回核工人，更新他们的培训和维护，检查设备，确保有足够的燃料，并请求监管机构恢复其运营许可证。艾伦表示，需要监控的事项很多，但整个过程相对直接。
Plant owners must bring back nuclear workers, update their training and maintenance, check equipment, secure enough fuel and ask regulators to restore their operating licences. Allen said there was a lot to monitor, but the process was relatively straightforward.
联合关注科学家协会核能安全主任埃德温·莱曼表示，纳税人的资金应被用于解决安全风险。他指出，美国大多数核电站建于1970年至1990年之间，设计时是为了抵御当时预期的自然灾害，而气候变化正导致极端天气更加频繁和严重。莱曼说：“如果他们设定了适当的安全水平并投入必要的资金来达到这一标准，那么这些电厂有可能恢复到可运行状态。”
Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said taxpayer funds should be used to address safety risks. Most US nuclear plants were built between 1970 and 1990 and designed to withstand the natural disasters anticipated at the time, while climate change is making extreme weather more frequent and severe, he said. "It's possible, if they set the right level of safety and spend the necessary funds to meet that, they could restore these plants to operable condition," Lyman said.
但他补充道：“目前这一点尚未实现。”爱荷华州唯一的核设施杜安·阿诺德核电站于1975年开始运行，原计划于2020年10月永久关闭。更换为更便宜的能源来源，包括风能，预计可为爱荷华州客户节省3亿美元的能源成本。该电厂于2020年8月提前关闭，原因是遭遇了一场名为“ derecho ”的强烈风暴造成损坏。
"That's not happening at this point." Duane Arnold, Iowa's only nuclear facility, began operating in 1975 and was scheduled to close permanently in October 2020. Replacing it with cheaper sources, including wind energy, was projected to save Iowa customers USD 300 million in energy costs. The plant closed early, in August 2020, after being damaged by a powerful storm known as a derecho.
拥有杜安·阿诺德核电站的NextEra能源公司计划与谷歌合作，在2029年初重启该电站。在评估其状况后，首席执行官约翰·凯特姆表示，官员们“对将其重新投入运营的能力感到非常有信心”。他补充道：“这是数据中心自担成本的完美例子。我们能够为此项目与一家超大规模云服务商签订长期合同。因此，爱荷华州的居民用户无需承担任何费用。”
NextEra Energy, which owns Duane Arnold, plans to work with Google to restart the plant by early 2029. After assessing its condition, chief executive John Ketchum said officials "felt really good about the ability to bring it back". He added: "This is a perfect example of data centres paying their own way. We're able to sign a long-term contract with a hyperscaler for that project. So none of the costs are being paid by residential customers in Iowa."
帕利塞德核电站是三个项目中进展最快的一个。该电站自1971年投入运营直至2022年，当时其所有者Entergy退出了核能业务，尽管其运营许可证原本有效直至2031年。霍尔泰克国际收购了该电站并开始拆除，但所采取的步骤均不可逆转。
Palisades is the furthest advanced of the three projects. The plant operated from 1971 until 2022, when its owner, Entergy, left the nuclear power business, although its operating licence was valid until 2031. Holtec International bought the plant and began dismantling it, but none of the steps taken was irreversible.
密歇根州官员希望保留核能就业和发电能力，鼓励霍尔泰克重新开放该电站，并提供了州级资金。拜登政府于2024年批准了15亿美元的贷款用于重启，而特朗普政府则继续了该笔付款。
Michigan officials, seeking to retain nuclear jobs and electricity generation, encouraged Holtec to reopen the plant and provided state funding. The Biden administration approved a USD 1.5 billion loan in 2024 for the restart, and the Trump administration continued the payments.
霍尔特克公司于八月开始装载核燃料，这是反堆重启前的最后一个主要阶段之一。在一个燃料组件从其直立位置倾斜后，公司暂停了该过程，并决定调查原因。电力购买协议要求帕利塞德斯核电站必须在2027年3月前开始运行。霍尔特克表示，该项目将恢复稳定的电力供应，增强能源安全，并展示核能在满足不断增长的需求中的作用。
Holtec began loading nuclear fuel in August, one of the final major stages before a reactor can restart. It paused the process after a fuel assembly tilted from its upright position and the company decided to investigate the cause. Power purchase agreements require Palisades to begin operating by March 2027. Holtec said the project would restore a steady supply of electricity, strengthen energy security and demonstrate nuclear power's role in meeting growing demand.
微软与哈里斯堡附近三哩岛的克兰清洁能源中心签订了合同。该地点是1979年美国发生的最严重商业核电事故的现场。该事故导致一个反堆被毁，使该厂只剩下一个仍在运行的反堆。
Microsoft has a contract with the Crane Clean Energy Centre at Three Mile Island, near Harrisburg. The site was the scene of the worst commercial nuclear power accident in the US in 1979. The accident destroyed one reactor and left the plant with one functioning reactor.
2019年，当时是星座能源母公司的埃克森公司关闭了该运行中的反堆，称其亏损且宾夕法尼亚州立法者拒绝为其提供补贴。星座能源在2024年宣布，将在与微软签订的20年协议下，投资16亿美元重启该反堆。它希望在2027年使该厂重新投入运行。能源部提供了10亿美元贷款，能源部副部长詹姆斯·丹利上周曾参观该设施，印度新闻社报道如上。
In 2019, Exelon, then the parent company of Constellation Energy, closed the functioning reactor, saying it was losing money and Pennsylvania lawmakers had refused to subsidise it. Constellation announced in 2024 that it would spend USD 1.6 billion to restart the reactor under a 20-year agreement with Microsoft. It hopes to bring the plant back online in 2027. The Energy Department provided a USD 1 billion loan, and Deputy Energy Secretary James Danly toured the facility last week, the Press Trust of India report said.
传统基金会能源、气候与环境中心主任杰克·斯宾塞反对联邦支持。他认为，他无法想象比重启反堆更糟的纳税人钱的使用方式，认为这些项目风险低且对其电力有强烈需求，因此没有理由将联邦资金用于这些公司。大西洋理事会核能政策倡议负责人珍妮弗·戈登持相反观点，她说联邦融资是获取所需电力的有效方式。
Jack Spencer, director of The Heritage Foundation's Centre for Energy, Climate and Environment, opposed the federal support. He said he could not think of a worse use of taxpayer money than restarting reactors, arguing that the projects were low-risk and faced strong demand for their electricity, leaving no reason to direct federal funds to the companies. Jennifer Gordon, who heads the Atlantic Council's Nuclear Energy Policy Initiative, took the opposite view, saying federal financing was an effective way to secure needed electricity.
世界核能协会表示，应欢迎反应堆重启，尽管防止电厂提前关闭会更可取。该协会预计，帕利塞德斯将成为全球首个在进入永久关闭程序后恢复发电的核电站。该协会称，加拿大、亚美尼亚、比利时、日本、印度和韩国的反应堆在长期停机后已重启或进行了翻修，而其他国家也在考虑或推进类似项目。
The World Nuclear Association said reactor restarts should be welcomed, though preventing plants from closing prematurely would be preferable. It expects Palisades to become the world's first nuclear plant to resume generating electricity after entering the permanent closure process. The association said reactors in Canada, Armenia, Belgium, Japan, India and South Korea had restarted or been refurbished after long shutdowns, while other countries were considering or pursuing similar projects.
因此，这三个拟议中的重启项目有望恢复足够的核能容量，以供大约两百万户家庭和企业使用，即使在专家们仍在就安全问题和纳税人资金使用展开争论的情况下，这些项目也将得到联邦贷款和长期技术公司合同的支持。
The three proposed restarts could therefore restore enough nuclear capacity to supply about two million homes and businesses, supported by federal loans and long-term technology company contracts, even as experts continue to debate safety concerns and the use of taxpayer funds.