Constellation Energy executives said federal regulators could soon decide whether the company can move forward more quickly with restarting the former Three Mile Island nuclear facility in Pennsylvania.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Constellation Energy said Monday that federal regulators may issue a decision within the next two months that could determine how quickly the company is able to restart the former Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station nuclear facility.
The company, one of the world’s largest electricity producers, is seeking to bring the Pennsylvania plant back online under the new name Crane Clean Energy Center. Executives said the company hopes to resume operations next year as demand for electricity continues climbing, driven largely by expanding data center infrastructure and broader electrification efforts across the economy.
During a quarterly earnings call with investors, company officials said the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission could issue a ruling in June or July regarding Constellation’s request to transfer grid injection rights from its Eddystone natural gas generating station near Philadelphia to the Crane nuclear facility.
According to executives, the company is seeking the transfer because feedback from the PJM Interconnection indicated the revived nuclear plant might otherwise be delayed from supplying electricity to the grid until 2031.
Chief Executive Officer Joe Dominguez told investors the company does not expect the restart timeline to be pushed back that far.
“I don’t want anybody to be under the misconception of that the plant won’t start sooner,” Dominguez said during the earnings call.
The restart effort is tied to an agreement to provide electricity to Microsoft data centers operating in the region, reflecting increasing energy demand associated with artificial intelligence systems and large-scale cloud computing infrastructure.
No fully shuttered commercial nuclear power plant in the United States has previously returned to operation after being permanently closed. However, three separate reactor restart projects are currently underway nationwide as utilities and technology companies seek additional reliable power sources.
The Three Mile Island site became internationally known following the 1979 partial reactor meltdown at Unit 2, though the unit involved in the current restart effort is a separate reactor that had continued operating for decades afterward before shutting down for economic reasons.
Constellation executives said the company remains focused on resolving regulatory and grid access issues in order to accelerate the plant’s return to service.
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