The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the interconnection agreement for the Crane Clean Energy Center at the Three Mile Island site in Middletown, Pennsylvania, clearing a key regulatory milestone for the restart of the Unit 1 reactor. The facility, renamed by new owner Constellation Energy, has been offline since 2019 when it was idled due to low wholesale electricity prices.
Microsoft signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Constellation to purchase electricity from the restarted facility, providing the financial anchor for the restart investment. The agreement is one of the largest corporate clean energy PPAs signed for nuclear generation in US history, and it reflects the technology sector's growing demand for around-the-clock carbon-free electricity to power AI data center operations.
Constellation has estimated restart capital investment at approximately $1.6 billion, covering equipment refurbishment, safety system upgrades, fuel procurement, and regulatory filings. The facility's generating capacity of approximately 835 megawatts will produce electricity around the clock regardless of weather conditions, a characteristic that differentiates nuclear generation from variable renewables.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission conducted a separate review confirming that the plant's licenses remained valid and that restart could proceed under the existing regulatory framework. The plant does not require a new operating license since it was not formally decommissioned during its five-year outage.
The Crane Center restart is being watched as a potential model for other nuclear plant restarts. Approximately a dozen shuttered US nuclear reactors may be technically eligible for restart reviews, though each would require its own assessment of physical condition, license status, and economic viability.
Source: Nuclear Energy Institute -- https://www.nei.org