Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island Unit 1 is set for a significant revival, thanks to a new partnership with Microsoft. Constellation, a U.S.-based energy provider, announced a 20-year power purchase agreement with the tech giant, facilitating the launch of the Crane Clean Energy Center (CCEC) and the reopening of the 835 megawatt (MW) nuclear unit at Three Mile Island.
Under this agreement, Microsoft will source energy from the revamped facility, aligning with its commitment to power data centers in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland (PJM) region with carbon-free energy.
The Three Mile Island plant was shut down in 2019 when owner Exelon opted to cease operations following a failed attempt to secure a financial rescue package from Pennsylvania lawmakers. The facility gained notoriety in 1979 for being the site of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history, where the TMI Unit 2 reactor suffered core damage. Although no injuries occurred, the incident significantly impacted public perception of nuclear energy. After the accident, most of the damaged reactor core material was removed and transported to the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, with the plant entering a state of Post-Defueling Monitored Storage in 1993.
TMI Unit 1 operates independently of the decommissioning process for Unit 2, which is currently being handled by Energy Solutions. Constellation assures that the long-term operation of Unit 1 remains unaffected by the previous incident.
To prepare for its restart, extensive investments will be made to restore the plant’s turbine, generator, main power transformer, and cooling and control systems. Restarting the reactor will require approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, following a thorough safety and environmental review, along with permits from relevant state and local agencies. Constellation also plans to pursue a license renewal that could extend operations through at least 2054, with the CCEC expected to be operational by 2028.
A recent poll by Susquehanna Polling & Research indicated that more than two-thirds of Pennsylvanians support the plant’s reopening, with 70% favoring the continued use of nuclear energy as a carbon-free power source.
Constellation acquired TMI Unit 1 in 1999. Before its retirement due to economic challenges in 2019, the plant generated 837 MW and operated at maximum capacity 96.3% of the time in its final year. It also provided an annual payroll of approximately $60 million and employed over 600 full-time workers, alongside around 1,000 craft workers for its biennial refueling outages.
The plant will be renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center in tribute to Chris Crane, the former CEO of Constellation’s parent company, who passed away in April 2024. Crane was a prominent advocate for America’s nuclear power industry, instrumental in establishing the Institute for Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) and serving on boards for the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO).
Additionally, this week, a consortium that includes Microsoft, BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), and MGX announced the formation of the Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership (GAIIP). This initiative aims to invest in data centers and the energy infrastructure needed to support them, with a goal of unlocking $30 billion in private equity capital and potentially mobilizing up to $100 billion in total investments through debt financing.
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