Trump administration lends $1 billion to reactivate Three Mile Island nuclear power plant

The Trump administration approved a $1 billion loan to finance the reactivation of a portion of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, the Department of Energy said. The funding is for a project known as the Crane Clean Energy Center, which aims to return a reactor at the plant to operation after it ceased in 2019.

The agreement with Constellation Energy, which the Department of Energy closed Tuesday, falls under the Energy Dominance Financing Program, created to "retool, repower, repurpose, or replace energy infrastructure."

Reactivation for industrial and technological purposes

Last year, Microsoft and Constellation Energy announced a pact to reopen that plant (which was not affected by the 1979 accident) and use its energy in data centers, amid growing electricity demand driven by developments such as artificial intelligence. The plant had suspended its operation in 2019.

According to Energy Secretary Chris Wright, the United States is taking "unprecedented steps to lower energy costs and bring about the next American nuclear renaissance." Wright added that Constellation's reactivation will bring "affordable, reliable, and secure energy" to the Mid-Atlantic region and help secure the electricity needed to strengthen domestic manufacturing and compete in the AI race.