The owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant said Friday that it plans to restart the reactor under a 20-year agreement that calls for tech giant Microsoft to buy the power to supply its data centers with carbon-free energy.
The announcement by Constellation Energy comes five years after its then-parent company, Exelon, shut down the plant , saying it was losing money.
The plant, on an island in the Susquehanna River just outside Harrisburg, was the site of the nation's worst commercial nuclear power accident, in 1979. The accident destroyed one reactor, Unit 2, and left the plant with one functioning reactor, Unit 1.
Buying the power is designed to help Microsoft meet its commitment to be "carbon negative" by 2030.
Constellation said it hopes to bring Unit 1 online in 2028 and pursue a license renewal from regulators to extend the plant's operation to at least 2054. Restarting the Unit 1 reactor will require approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, as well as permits from state and local agencies, Constellation said.
