NEW YORK (AP) — Nuclear power is garnering renewed attention amid growing demand for power and cleaner energy.
The power source has seen a resurgence as nations focus on reducing emissions in an effort to combat climate change. At the same time, the technology sector's energy needs are growing in the form of data centers and powerful advances in artificial intelligence.
Those factors have prompted companies and governments to look more closely at a power source whose potential hazards made it unpopular only a few decades ago. The U.S. is the fastest growing market for data centers, according to McKinsey, which forecasts demand to more than triple by 2030 to 80 gigawatts.
Constellation Energy plans on reopening Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania under a deal with Microsoft. Oracle plans to use new technology in the form of small modular nuclear reactors to power its data centers, while Google is purchasing nuclear energy from small modular reactors in development by Kairos Power. Amazon bought a data center powered by nuclear energy in Pennsylvania earlier this year and is also investing in small nuclear reactors.
“The power sector is rapidly becoming a protagonist in the AI story,” McKinsey analysts said in a report. “Access to power has become a critical factor in driving new data center builds.”
That demand, coupled with goals to get the nation's power usage to “net zero” carbon emissions, means that the expectations for nuclear power contributions are jumping. Nuclear power already provides about 20% of all electricity generation in the U.S., and the International Atomic Energy Agency expects that nuclear electrical generating capacity could nearly triple in North America by 2050.
Nuclear power has the U.S. government's support as an option moving ahead for cleaner energy to help lower carbon emissions. Georgia’s Vogtle nuclear power plant opened two new reactors over the last several years.
The forecasts for growing demand have made utilities with nuclear plants a target for deals with big data companies.
Three Mile Island, located in Pennsylvania, was the site of the worst commercial nuclear accident in U.S. history, when its Unit 2 reactor suffered a partial meltdown and went offline in 1979. The recent deal between Microsoft and Constellation proposes reopening the Unit 1 reactor, which remained in operation until 2019.
"This deal recognizes the critical role that nuclear has in providing clean energy, and supporting reliability," said Daniel L. Eggers, Constellation's chief financial officer, in a call with analysts.
Several states still have moratoriums on nuclear power development, but there has been a movement over the last 10 years to repeal them. Wisconsin, Kentucky, Montana and West Virginia are among states that have reopened the door to reactor construction. Other states, including New York, have partial restrictions based on size and location.
The demand for nuclear power is shining a brighter light on nuclear technology companies and uranium miners.
NuScale Power has seen its stock leap more than five times this year, following a 40% jump in 2023. The company makes small modular reactors, which have a smaller footprint than typical nuclear power plants and reactors. Wall Street expects its revenue to surge in the coming years.
Uranium prices are near a 15-year high. The surge in prices has helped bolster stocks for companies including Cameco and NexGen as the uranium miners and their peers face rising demand for the fuel.
FILE - The Three Mile Island nuclear power generating station shown, March 28, 2011, in Middletown, Pa. (AP Photo/Bradley C Bower, File)
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The death of Liam Payne, who shot to stardom as a member of British boy band One Direction and grappled with intense global fame while still in his teens, sent shockwaves across the world Thursday as Argentine investigators continued their investigation at the scene.
Fans, music-industry figures and fellow musicians paid tribute to Payne, 31, who died after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina.
As fans and media bombarded the Casa Sur Hotel in the trendy Palermo neighborhood of Argentina’s capital, the forensics unit worked inside on Thursday collecting evidence.
The Buenos Aires police said they found Payne's hotel room “in complete disarray," with packs of clonazepam, a central nervous system depressant, as well as energy supplements and other over-the-counter drugs strewn about and “various items broken.” They added that a whiskey bottle, lighter and cellphone were retrieved from the internal hotel courtyard where Payne’s body was found.
The day before, police said that Payne “had jumped from the balcony of his room," without elaborating on how they came to that conclusion. The Associated Press could not confirm details of the incident, as the investigation is ongoing. The medical examiner’s office said it was conducting an autopsy.
Police said they had rushed to the hotel Wednesday in response to an emergency call just after 5 p.m. local time that had warned of an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”
A hotel manager can be heard on a 911 call recording obtained by The Associated Press saying the hotel has “a guest who is overwhelmed with drugs and alcohol ... He’s destroying the entire room and, well, we need you to send someone, please.” The manager’s voice becomes more anxious as the call goes on, noting the room has a balcony.
Payne was known as the tousle-headed, sensible one of the quintet that went from a TV talent show to a pop phenomenon with a huge international following of swooning fans. In recent years he had acknowledged struggling with alcoholism, saying in a YouTube video posted in July 2023 that he had been sober for six months after receiving treatment. Representatives for Payne did not immediately return emails and calls.
Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood, who performed with One Direction in 2014, said he was “shocked and saddened.”
“God bless Liam, thinking of all his loved ones. He will be dearly missed,” Wood wrote on X.
Paris Hilton also sent condolences on X, saying the news was “so upsetting.” The Backstreet Boys said in a social media post that their hearts go out to “Directioners around the world.”
Dozens of One Direction fans flocked to the Casa Sur Hotel after the news broke, forming lines that spilled into the cordoned-off street outside, where police stood sentinel. Forensic investigators were seen leaving the building, from where Payne’s body was removed around three hours after the fall. Young women filming with their cellphones expressed shock and heartbreak as a makeshift memorial with rows of candles and bouquets quickly grew.
“I didn’t think he was going to die so young,” 21-year-old Isabella Milesi told the AP.
Payne was one of five members of One Direction, which formed after each auditioned for the British singing competition “The X Factor” in 2010, two years after Payne’s first attempt to get on the show. Aged 16 the second time around, Payne sang Michael Bublé’s version of “Cry Me a River,” appearing nervous at the start but warming up with the audience’s cheers and applause.
After each singer failed to make it through the competition as a solo act, Simon Cowell and his fellow judges combined Payne, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson into what would become one of the most successful boy bands ever — even though they lost the competition.
Each member had his own persona, with Payne — who hailed from Wolverhampton in England's West Midlands region — known as the responsible one. The band became known for their pop sound and romantic hits including “What Makes You Beautiful,” “Night Changes” and “Story of My Life.”
Payne had prominent solos on songs including “Stole My Heart” and “Change Your Ticket,” co-writing several of the band’s hits. One Direction had six Top 10 hits on the Billboard charts by the time they disbanded in 2016 and a highly loyal fan base, known as “Directioners,” many of them teen girls.
“I’ve always loved One Direction since I was little,” said 18-year-old Juana Relh, another fan outside Payne’s hotel. “To see that he died and that there will never be another reunion of the boys is unbelievable, it kills me.”
With his meteoric rise to fame, Payne had said that it took some time to adjust to life in the public eye.
“I don’t think you can ever deal with that. It's all a bit crazy for us to see that people get in that sort of state of mind about us and what we do,” he said in a 2013 interview with the AP after recounting an experience where a fan was in a state of shock upon meeting him.
One Direction announced an indefinite “hiatus” in 2016, and Payne — like each of his erstwhile bandmates — pursued a solo career, shifting toward EDM and hip-hop.
While Styles became a huge solo star, the others had more modest success. Payne's 2017 single “Strip That Down,” featuring Quavo, reached the Billboard Top 10, and stayed on the charts for several months. He put out an album “LP1” in 2019, and his last release — a single called “Teardrops” — was released in March.
In 2020, to mark the 10th anniversary of One Direction, Payne shared a screenshot of a text message he sent to his father on the day he joined the group, which read: “I’m in a boyband.”
“What a journey … I had no idea what we were in for when I sent this text to my dad years ago at this exact time the band was formed," he wrote.
Payne had a 7-year-old son, Bear Grey Payne, with his former girlfriend, the musician Cheryl, who was known as Cheryl Cole when she performed with Girls Aloud. She was an “X Factor” judge during One Direction’s season, although their relationship began years later.
Payne was previously engaged to Maya Henry, from August 2020 to early 2022. Henry released a novel earlier this year that she said was based on their relationship.
In addition to his son, he is survived by his parents, Geoff and Karen Payne, and his two older sisters, Ruth and Nicola.
Huamani reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press journalists Natacha Pisarenko and Debora Rey contributed reporting from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
FILE - Liam Payne performs during the first day of BBC Radio 1's Biggest Weekend at Singleton Park, in Swansea, Wales, May 26, 2018. (Ben Birchall/PA via AP, File)
Forensic investigators exit the hotel where former One Direction singer Liam Payne was found dead after he fell from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
FILE - One Direction members, from right, Liam Payne and Harry Styles perform on ABC's "Good Morning America" at Rumsey Playfield/SummerStage on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)
Fans light candles outside the hotel where former One Direction singer Liam Payne was found dead after he fell from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Fans light candles outside the hotel where former One Direction singer Liam Payne was found dead after he fell from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Police restrain fans gathering outside the hotel where former One Direction singer Liam Payne was found dead after he fell from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
FILE - One Direction members, from left, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Liam Payne perform on NBC's "Today" show, Nov. 13, 2012 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)
People embrace outside the hotel where former One Direction singer Liam Payne was found dead after he fell from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Fans light candles outside the hotel where former One Direction singer Liam Payne was found dead after he fell from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Fans light candles outside the hotel where former One Direction singer Liam Payne was found dead after he fell from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
