Constellation Energy Corp. announced a 20-year deal with Microsoft to supply regional data centers with power from what it described as a $1.6 billion renovation and restart of the Unit 1 reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant near Harrisburg , Pennsylvania, which was closed. in 2019 “for financial reasons,” after 20 years of operation, said the company’s CEO, Joe Domínguez.
The unit is adjacent to but not connected to the plant’s Unit 2, which was closed in 1979 after a near-merger and is being decommissioned by its new owner, Energy Solutions. A restart of Unit 1, now known as the Crane Clean Energy Center, would be the first restart of a shuttered US nuclear plant if the plan is approved by the Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Constellation, which told media it had not yet applied to the agency for a restart permit, also sought a license renewal that will extend the plant’s operations until at least 2054.
It is also seeking commission permission to restart Michigan’s Palisades nuclear reactor, owned by operator Holtec since 2022, as early as late 2025. The restart effort had secured a federal loan guarantee, according to the company conditional of $1.52 trillion in March.
The renovated Three Mile Island unit, which will be operational in 2028, would add 835 MW of power to the area’s grid operated by PJM Interconnection. more than 20 years to match the energy consumed by Microsoft’s data centers.
“Microsoft continues to work with energy providers to develop carbon-free energy sources to help meet the capacity and reliability needs of networks,” said Bobby Hollis, vice president of energy.
The reactivation process will require “significant investments” in Unit 2 plant systems, including the turbine, generator, main power transformer, cooling and control systems, Constellation said, but a company spokesman did not respond to ENR by publication time for stories related to the status of the project engineer and contractor selection.
The utility is expected to seek federal clean energy tax breaks under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to make the restart economically viable, according to The Washington Post, which said the Energy Secretary, Jennifer Granholm, had previously estimated that the incentives could cut the cost of reopening by as much as half.
Constellation touted a construction-sponsored regional study that said the restart would create 3,400 direct and indirect jobs and said an additional $1 million has been committed over the next five years to support regional workforce development and other community investments.
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