by Peter Hall
Constellation Energy announced it will restart its nuclear power plant at Three Mile Island in a deal to provide carbon-free electricity to offset the power used by software giant Microsoft’s data centers in the region.
Three Mile Island. (Z22/Wikimedia Commons)
Microsoft has agreed to buy the full 835 megawatt output from Constellation’s plant at Three Mile Island for 20 years, Constellation said. The deal clears the way for Constellation’s investment in restarting the plant, which will be renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center (CCEC) after a former company leader.
Although terms of the deal have not been disclosed, Constellation will invest $1.6 billion to overhaul the plant. A study by a construction labor group said the project will add $16 billion to the state’s GDP and generate more than $3 billion in state and federal taxes.
Constellation, which is a publicly traded company, is moving ahead with the project using a combination of its own private investment, the agreement with Microsoft and federal tax credits available to all new emissions-free energy project, a spokesperson said.
“Earlier this year, there were discussions in Harrisburg about adding CCEC to a list of projects that could apply for an existing PA investment tax credit, but only after it generated the required jobs, taxes and economic impacts,” the spokesperson told the Capital-Star in an email. “Those discussions have been tabled and any claims that PA residents would have to cover the costs of a state tax credit are false.”
The Baltimore-based company purchased the Unit 1 reactor at Three Mile Island in 1999 and operated it until 2019 when it mothballed the plant for economic reasons.
Located in Londonderry Township, Dauphin County, Constellation’s plant is adjacent to but independent from the Unit 2 Three Mile Island reactor, which suffered a partial meltdown in 1979 in the nation’s worst nuclear accident. Both plants occupy an island in the Susquehanna River about 15 miles south of Harrisburg.
Discussion of reopening the plant spurred outcry and a demonstration this summer amid concerns over its safety. Opponents noted the clean up from the 1979 accident is ongoing and the Constellation plant shares its site with spent nuclear fuel from Unit 1, which protesters said is vulnerable to attack.
Constellation said in an announcement of the deal with Microsoft on Friday that nuclear power plants are the only energy sources that can provide consistent, carbon-free energy critical to the nation’s technological competitiveness, including data centers.
“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 President and CEO Joe Dominguez said in a statement.
The plant will be renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center after former CEO Chris Crane, who Constellation described as a “fierce advocate” of the nuclear energy industry devoted to the safe and reliable operation of the nation’s nuclear power plants.
“We will continue that legacy at the Crane Clean Energy Center,” Dominguez said.
The Three Mile Island Unit 2 partial meltdown on March 28, 1979, remains the United States’ most serious nuclear failure, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The agency says only small amounts of radiation were released in the incident and had no health impacts on plant workers or the public.
The failure of a valve and faulty instrumentation led staff to take a series of actions that caused the reactor to overheat, according to the NRC.
The partial meltdown prompted sweeping changes in the industry and caused the NRC to tighten regulation, but it also permanently damaged public confidence in nuclear energy.
Restarting Unit 1 will require approval from the NRC, comprehensive safety and environmental reviews, and state and local permits. The plant is expected to begin generating electricity in 2028, Constellation said, and the company is pursuing a license extension to allow it to remain in operation until at least 2054, 80 years after the plant first came into operation.
The Pennsylvania Building & Construction Trades Council, which represents about 130 local unions and regional councils, commissioned a study that estimated reopening the plant will contribute about 3,400 jobs to the economy.
State and local elected officials said Constellation’s plan fits into the commonwealth’s goal of reducing energy costs for consumers while cutting the production of climate warming carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel power plants.
“Pennsylvania’s nuclear energy industry plays a critical role in providing safe, reliable, carbon-free electricity that helps reduce emissions and grow Pennsylvania’s economy,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said, according to Constellation’s news release.
State Rep. Thomas Mehaffie (R-Dauphin), whose district includes the plant, said restarting the plant is a valuable investment in “clean, carbon-free, and affordable power,” which he noted comes after the hottest year on record.
“This will transform the local economy and presents a rare opportunity to power our economy with reliable clean energy that we can count on,” Mehaffie said, according to Constellation’s statement.
Constellation operates 14 nuclear power plants, including the Limerick Clean Energy Center in Montgomery County and the Peach Bottom Clean Energy Center in York County.
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