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4h ago

DOE Finalizes $1 Billion Loan to Restart Three Mile Island Reactor by 2027

The financing lowers Constellation’s costs under a 20-year Microsoft power deal, with the first advance expected in early 2026.

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FILE - At Constellation's nuclear power plant on Three Mile Island, called the Crane Clean Energy Center, near Middletown, Pa., the cooling towers are reflected in the Susquehanna River at sunrise, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
At Constellation's nuclear power plant on Three Mile Island, called the Crane Clean Energy Center, near Middletown, Pa., the cooling towers are reflected in the Susquehanna River at sunrise on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
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Overview

  • Constellation will use the loan to revive Unit 1, now the Crane Clean Energy Center, targeting a 2027 return to service with 835 megawatts feeding the PJM grid, roughly enough for 800,000 homes.
  • The Loan Programs Office said Constellation is guaranteeing the debt, a structure it says protects taxpayers, and noted this was the first time it declared a loan’s conditions met and closed it simultaneously.
  • Officials framed the move as part of a push to expand reliable nuclear supply to meet surging power demand from AI data centers and to ease price pressures for PJM ratepayers.
  • The restart still requires Nuclear Regulatory Commission and water permits as well as equipment refurbishment, and Constellation says the project is now about 80% staffed with more than 500 employees.
  • Constellation estimates the overall restart cost at about $1.6 billion, with the DOE loan covering a majority and supported by a 20-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft.