3-Mile
Island to
Reopen in 2027

They do plan to reopen Unit 1 of Three Mile Island, renamed the Christopher M. Crane Clean Energy Center (CCEC).

Constellation Energy, the plant’s owner, announced in September 2024 that it will restart the 835-megawatt reactor—shut down in 2019 for economic reasons—to provide carbon-free power to the grid.   This is driven by a 20-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft to exclusively power its AI data centers, amid surging electricity demand.  

Key progress as of January 2026:

• Timeline: Targeting restart as early as 2027 (ahead of the original 2028 plan), pending final Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approval, state/local permits, and license renewal to at least 2054.  
• Funding: Constellation is investing ~$1.6 billion total; the U.S. Department of Energy closed a $1 billion loan in November 2025 to cover refurbishments, safety upgrades, licensing, and workforce training. 
• Regulatory status: The NRC approved the name change in May 2025 and has accepted key requests since mid-2025, including license amendments for power operations resumption (July 2025), new fuel receipt, security/emergency plans, and exemptions from decommissioning rules. Several are under review with requests for additional info; no major denials reported. 

• Benefits: Expected to create 3,400 jobs (direct/indirect), add $16 billion to Pennsylvania’s GDP, generate $3.6 billion in taxes, and cut 61 million tons of CO2 over 20 years. U.S. Energy Secretary Christopher Wright called it a fulfillment of Trump administration promises to lower energy costs and support AI competitiveness (December 2025). 

Unit 1 was unaffected by the 1979 Unit 2 accident and remains in SAFSTOR (safe storage), making restart feasible without full decommissioning.  

The project has won awards (e.g., Platts Global Energy Award, December 2025) and strong backing from officials like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. 

Challenges/Skepticism: A recent op-ed by former FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee (published ~January 2026) argues it “will never happen” due to regulatory gauntlets (NRC/EPA/FERC reviews), material degradation (e.g., brittle vessels, corroded parts needing replacement), high costs/risks, fuel supply issues, and 1979 stigma—claiming no U.S. plant has fully restarted post-shutdown. 

However, Constellation reports being ahead of schedule, with ongoing inspections, training, and community outreach—no cancellations or halts as of now. 

Overall, official momentum is strong toward a 2027 restart, though final approvals could cause slips.