Three Mile Island Nuclear plant to Restart with $1 Billion Loan

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has approved a $1 billion loan to Constellation Energy to restart the only working reactor at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant. Microsoft has a deal with Constellation Energy to power its data centers with energy from the plant in Pennsylvania for 20 years.

Constellation Energy says the loan will help lower costs to restart the reactor. The DOE says the 835 MW reactor could power almost 800,000 homes and create many jobs.

This is the first time the DOE Loan Programs Office has approved a loan and closed financing at the same time. Constellation Energy says this was possible as the company is financially strong.

Last year, Constellation Energy announced it would invest about $1.6 billion to restart the reactor. The working unit is now called the “Crane Clean Energy Center” while equipment like cooling systems, controls, generators, turbines, and transformers are being fixed. The plant is expected to be fully running again in 2027.

Restarting the Crane Clean Energy Center is part of Constellation Energy’s larger plan to extend the life of existing nuclear plants and increase their power output.

FERC Helped Speed Up Restart

Constellation energy president and CEO explained that the FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) helped speed things up. The FERC, working with the Department of Energy (DOE), allowed the Trump governance to accelerate production.