The US power generator and supplier Constellation Energy (CE) has announced plans to restart Unit 1 of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania (United States), which was closed in 2019 for economic reasons, to support the power needs of Microsoft’s data centres. CE has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Microsoft to match power consumed by its data centres in the PJM Interconnection. To prepare for the restart, CE expects to make significant investments in the turbine, generator, main power transformer and cooling and control systems. The company will need the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s approval following a comprehensive safety and environmental review, as well as permits from relevant state and local agencies. CE plans to submit a request to extend the plant operations to at least 2054. The plant will be renamed as the Crane Clean Energy Center (CCEC) and is expected to be online in 2028.
The Unit 1 reactor, rated 837 MW, is located adjacent to TMI Unit 2, which shut down in 1979 and is in the process of being decommissioned after a partial meltdown. The accident did not affect operations at Unit 1, since it is a fully independent facility.
There are 95 nuclear reactors currently in operation in the US for a total capacity of over 97 GW. Nuclear accounted for 18% of the US' total generation in 2022 and 2023.
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