Goodbye, Three Mile Island. Hello, Crane Clean Energy Center. By EPN Staff The path to restarting Three Mile Island’s Unit 1 reactor under Constellation Energy’s deal with Microsoft will take about four years and involve rebranding the facility as the Crane Clean Energy Center. The new name is intended to honor the memory of the late Chris Crane, former CEO of Exelon Corporation, which spun off Constellation Energy into a standalone company in 2022. It also aims to disassociate the revitalized facility from the partial meltdown that occurred at Three Mile Island’s Unit 2 reactor in 1979. What’s next Constellation Energy has shared this timeline of planned activities leading to the reopening of the reactor: 2024-2027: Restore the plant and provide a quality assurance plan to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 2025: Submit security and emergency plans, as well as a formal request to change the name from Three Mile Island to Crane Clean Energy Center. 2027: Complete self-assessment of the plant and receive operational readiness letter and final approvals from NRC. 2028: Begin operation. Terms of the deal The Unit 1 reactor, which closed in 2019 due to lack of demand and higher competition, remains licensed to operate until 2034 , Constellation Energy aims to pursue an extension of the license to operate CCEC until 2054. In September 2024, Microsoft signed a power purchase agreement with Constellation Energy to reopen the Unit 1 reactor and provide more than 800 megawatts of carbon-free power for its data centers and support ongoing development of artificial intelligence. The deal hinges on NRC approval and a $1.6 billion investment from the U.S. Department of Energy to repair and improve the turbine, generator, main transformer and the cooling and control systems. Why it matters Restarting the Unit 1 reactor is expected to generate billions of dollars in economic activity and create thousands of jobs in Pennsylvania. The project is one of several being considered across the country, as nuclear power has drawn renewed public interest and bipartisan political support as a solution that meets projected increases in energy demand and eliminates carbon emissions. In his final months in office, President Joe Biden introduced a plan to increase U.S. nuclear energy production threefold with a framework laid out over the next 25 years. President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Energy, Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright, sits on the board of Oklo, a developer of small modular nuclear reactors.
