Operations at Three Mile Island are set to resume in four years, the latest sign that the nuclear power industry is undergoing a major overhaul after a wave of plant closures.
Three Mile Island’s Unit 1 reactor, which entered service in 1974, was permanently shut down in 2019 due to economic pressures as nuclear power struggled to compete with natural gas. But the growing power needs of the tech sector are breathing new life into the industry.
Constellation energy Unit 1 is to be restarted in 2028 through an agreement with the plants. Microsoft To help power the tech company’s data centers. The plant will be named the Crane Clean Energy Center — after Chris Crane, the late CEO of Exelon, the plant’s former owner — and the restart is subject to approval by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The Energy Department said Unit 1 operated safely and efficiently before it was shut down five years ago. However, it is located within walking distance of the site of the worst nuclear accident in US history. The Unit 2 reactor partially melted down in 1979 and has not been operating since the accident. It is being liquidated by its owner, Energy Solutions.
Brian Hansen, Constellation’s chief generation officer, said Unit 1 is in good condition and the restoration will mostly involve general maintenance work.
Here’s a look at the plant’s central control room, the turbine deck that houses the main power generator, and the facility’s iconic cooling towers. Click here for more on resumes.
Main control room
A control panel in the central control room of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania on October 30, 2024.
Daniel DeVries | CNBC
Brian Hansen, Constellation’s chief generation officer, inside the central control room of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Daniel DeVries | CNBC
Telephone in the central control room of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania on October 30, 2024.
Daniel DeVries | CNBC
Part of the central control room at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania on October 30, 2024.
Daniel DeVries | CNBC
Part of the central control room at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania on October 30, 2024.
Daniel DeVries | CNBC
Turbine deck
Part of the turbine deck at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania on October 30, 2024.
Daniel DeVries | CNBC
Part of the turbine deck at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania on October 30, 2024.
Daniel DeVries | CNBC
Electrical panels on the turbine deck of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant on October 30, 2024 in Middletown, Pennsylvania.
Daniel DeVries | CNBC
Part of the turbine deck at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania on October 30, 2024.
Daniel DeVries | CNBC
A table on the turbine deck of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant on October 30, 2024 in Middletown, Pennsylvania.
Daniel DeVries | CNBC
Cooling towers
A detail of two cooling towers at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania on October 30, 2024.
Daniel DeVries | CNBC
Power lines and cooling towers at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania on October 30, 2024.
Daniel DeVries | CNBC
A detail of a cooling tower at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania on October 30, 2024.
Daniel DeVries | CNBC
Cooling towers at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania on October 30, 2024.
Daniel DeVries | CNBC
— CNBC’s Daniel DeVries contributed to this report.
