It’s been five years since the last reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear power generating station was decommissioned and 45 years since the accident that tarnished the plant’s name. But now that we’re entering a new era of power demand, reopening rumors have been swirling around shuttered plants—Three Mile Island included.
On Friday, Constellation announced plans to restart one reactor in 2028 in partnership with Microsoft, which, like other hyperscalers, is always looking for power supply to meet the increasing demand from data centers. The tech giant has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) to procure energy for its data centers in and around Pennsylvania over a 20-year period.
- The unit to be restarted is not the unit that suffered a partial meltdown in 1979.
- It’s expected to produce ~7M MWh per year once back up to speed.
“Before it was prematurely shuttered due to poor economics, this plant was among the safest and most reliable nuclear plants on the grid, and we look forward to bringing it back with a new name and a renewed mission to serve as an economic engine for Pennsylvania,” Constellation CEO Joe Dominguez said in a statement.
Constellation plans to spend ~$1.6B to restart the unit, now called the Crane Clean Energy Center (CCEC).
Dot the i’s and cross the t’s: Constellation is solid on its plans to restart the unit but still needs to go through the regulatory permitting process. The company will seek a license renewal that qualifies the reactor through at least 2054.
+ Market check: Constellation ($CEG) is surging since the announcement, trading up ~30% with a price of $254.98 per share as of EOD Friday. Microsoft’s price didn’t see an impact.
Lead Reporter of Ignition
