Constellation Energy to restart Three Mile Island nuclear plant, sell the power to Microsoft for AI
September 20, 2024
Constellation Energy plans to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear plant and will sell the power to Microsoft, demonstrating the immense energy needs of the tech sector as they build out data centers to support artificial intelligence.
Constellation expects the Unit 1 reactor at Three Mile Island near Middletown, Pennsylvania, to come back online in 2028, subject to approval by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the company announced Friday. Constellation also plans to apply to extend the plant’s operations to at least 2054.
Constellation stock jumped about 15% in morning trading. Its shares have more than doubled year to date.
Microsoft will purchase electricity from the plant in a 20-year agreement to match the energy its data centers consume with carbon-free power. Constellation described the agreement with Microsoft as the largest power purchase agreement that the nuclear plant operator has ever signed.
“The decision here is the most powerful symbol of the rebirth of nuclear power as a clean and reliable energy resource,” Constellation CEO Joe Dominguez told investors on a call Friday morning.
Unit 1 ceased operations in 2019 as nuclear power struggled to compete economically with cheap natural gas and renewables. It is separate from the reactor that partially melted down in 1979 in the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history.
Constellation will rename the plant the Crane Clean Energy Center. The facility is named after Chris Crane, who was CEO of Constellation’s former parent company and died in April.
Constellation will invest $1.6 billion in restarting the plant through 2028, including on nuclear fuel, Chief Financial Officer Dan Eggers told investors during the call.
