Microsoft pens deal to restart Three Mile Island reactor five years after closure 

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Three Mile Island‘s Unit One reactor may come back online as early as 2028 through a new partnership with TMI’s owners. 

Baltimore-based energy supplier Constellation announced on Friday that it signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft in a deal that would see TMI’s owner reopen the plant as the Crane Clean Energy Center. 

Under the agreement, Microsoft will purchase energy from the renewed plant as part of its goal to help match the power its data center uses with carbon-free energy, Constellation wrote in a press release. 

Restarting the plant would require U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval, a comprehensive safety and environmental review, as well as permits from relevant authorities, with plans to be online by 2028, said Constellation. 

Three Mile Island‘s Generating Station Unit One began operations in 1974 and continued to generate power even after the Three Mile Island accident occurred at the second generating station in 1979. 

In 2019, two bills were introduced in the state legislature that if passed, could have provided up to $500 million in subsidies for nuclear power. Exelon, which split from Constellation in 2022, closed the Londonderry Township facility and began the years long decommissioning process after failing to receive such subsidies. 

“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,” said Joe Dominguez, president and CEO of Constellation. 

Eric Epstein, former chairman of Three Mile Island Alert, a nuclear energy watchdog in Harrisburg, said that Three Mile Island Alert is prepared to intervene against the action through three different agencies. 

Epstein said the effort to open the facility for one customer is “unjust.” 

“You have about 286 gigawatts of renewable energy that can’t get to the grid and Microsoft will jump to the front of the queue,” he said. “That arrangement where you have one plant dedicated to supply energy to one AI company is staggering.” 

In its announcement, Constellation quoted a study commissioned by the Pennsylvania State Building & Construction Trades Council estimating that reinstating Unit One would provide 600 direct jobs at the plant and 2,800 indirect jobs annually in the state. 

The report notes an estimated $3.6 billion in tax revenue and $16 billion in state GDP. It also estimates that the facility would reduce emissions by 3 million metric tons per year, offsetting about 10% of Pennsylvania’s passenger vehicle emissions. 

“This agreement is a major milestone in Microsoft’s efforts to help decarbonize the grid in support of our commitment to become carbon negative. Microsoft continues to collaborate with energy providers to develop carbon-free energy sources to help meet the grids’ capacity and reliability needs,” said Bobby Hollis, vice president of energy at Microsoft.    

 U.S. Congressman Scott Perry, R-Dauphin, Cumberland and York, said he was proud to see the launch of the Crane Clean Energy Center. 

“This critical step forward will ensure Pennsylvania has sufficient baseload power to meet its needs for decades to come while producing 3,400 jobs in our community,” said Perry.  

Three Mile Island Unit One was a good neighbor to Londonderry Township and its surrounding region, said Londonderry Township Board of Supervisors Chair Bart Shellenhamer. 

“The Crane Clean Energy Center will bring billions in new infrastructure investment and help support area businesses, schools and public services that improve quality of life for the whole region,” said Shellenhammer.