Microsoft signs a 20-year deal to restart Three Mile Island Unit 1
Constellation will bring the ~835 MW reactor back online as the Crane Clean Energy Center, with Microsoft buying its output for data centres from 2028, pending NRC approval.
Unit 1 at Three Mile Island was shut down for economic reasons in 2019. Under a 20-year power purchase agreement announced in September 2024, Constellation will restart it as the Crane Clean Energy Center and Microsoft will take the carbon-free output for its data centres. The restart requires Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval after a safety and environmental review; Constellation expects operation in 2028 and is pursuing a licence extension to 2054.
Why it matters: firm, carbon-free baseload is the alternative to the gas turbines xAI, OpenAI and Meta have chosen for new capacity. The index treats long-term clean-firm procurement as a positive conduct signal.
Sources
- 1.Constellation to restart Three Mile Island unit, powering MicrosoftWorld Nuclear News · Sep 20, 2024