Administration to make a $1 billon loan to restart 3 mile island

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The Trump administration will provide Constellation Energy
with a $1 billion loan to restart the Crane Clean Energy Center nuclear plant in Pennsylvania, Department of Energy officials said Tuesday.

Previously known as Three Mile Island Unit 1, the plant is expected to start generating power again in 2027. Constellation unveiled plans to rename and restart the reactor in Sept. 2024 through a power purchase agreement with Microsoft
to support the tech company’s data center demand in the region.

Three Mile Island Unit 1 ceased operations in 2019, one of a dozen reactors that closed in recent years as nuclear struggled to compete against cheap natural gas. It sits on the same site as Three Mile Island Unit 2, the reactor that partially melted down in 1979 in the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history.

The loan would cover the majority to the project’s estimated cost of $1.6 billion. The first advance to Constellation is expected in the first quarter of 2026, said Greg Beard, senior advisor to the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office, in a call with reporters. The loan comes with a guarantee from Constellation that it will protect taxpayer money, Beard said.

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The Energy Department is supporting the restart of the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan with a $1.5 billion loan to Holtec International. NextEra Energy
announced in October plans to restart the Duane Arnold nuclear plant in Iowa through an agreement Alphabet
’s Google Unit.

When asked whether NextEra will receive a loan for Duane Arnold, Beard told CNBC that Trump’s executive orders direct the Energy Department to “prioritize the restart of nuclear reactors.”

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