Three Mile Island owner lays out reopening timeline in public hearing

Rachel McDevitt

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I report on energy and the environment for StateImpact Pennsylvania at WITF.

My work focuses on responses and solutions to climate change in the state legislature and communities around the state. I trace my interest in these issues back to my time as a Girl Scout and this episode of Rocko’s Modern Life.

I look forward to winter just for the chance to ski a few times each season. I try to keep myself from doom-scrolling on my phone by keeping my hands busy knitting and learning to play the piano.

I grew up in Cambria County, Pa. and graduated from Temple University. I started at WITF just after Christmas in 2014.

Rachel McDevitt / StateImpact Pennsylvania

The cooling towers of the Crane Clean Energy Center, formerly Three Mile Island Unit 1, are seen here on Oct. 16, 2024.

October 25, 2024 | 3:30 PM

The owner of the closed Three Mile Island nuclear plant hopes to have a new license – and a new name for the plant – to operate in three years.

Constellation provided a timeline for restarting the plant during a public meeting Friday with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Constellation made a deal with Microsoft to provide enough electricity to the regional grid to power the tech company’s data centers, as part of Microsoft’s commitment to reduce climate-warming pollution across its operations.

The NRC’s regional counsel Brett Klukan asked when regulators would get a better understanding of Constellation’s relationship with Microsoft, to see if there are ethical conflicts NRC staff need to be aware of, such as Microsoft stock ownership. Constellation leaders present at the meeting said they could only speak to the nuclear side of operations, not the commercial aspects.

A total price tag for the restart was not disclosed. Constellation has applied for a $1.6 billion loan from the Department of Energy, but has not been approved as of yet. Constellation has not and will not use any money from a decommissioning trust fund to support the restart of the plant, senior manager of corporate licensing Dennis Moore said. Every nuclear plant in the country has a trust fund to ensure eventual clean up when the plants stop producing energy.

Over the next year, Constellation plans to conduct an environmental review of the site and submit plans for emergency and security protocols. Constellation will need to do an evacuation time estimate study for the plant, as the last one was done in 2014, NRC officials said. The study is meant to show the time it would take to leave the exposed area in the event of a nuclear accident.

Constellation also plans to change the name of Three Mile Island Unit 1 to the Crane Clean Energy Center. The change must be approved by the NRC as part of a license amendment.

TMI Unit 1 closed in 2019 due to stagnant demand and increased competition from cheaper natural gas and renewables. TMI Unit 2 partially melted down in 1979 and never reopened.

Hiring will happen in three waves over three years. Constellation said a mix of internal and external candidates will be hired.

Spokesman David Marcheskie said there are now more than 200 positions available and posted as Constellation ramps up its recruitment campaign. He said the full staffing target is now 730 employees – up from an initial estimate of 600 – over the next three years.

The first priority in hiring will be for nuclear operators. Operators must undergo an 18-month training program and pass a test for the plant to be licensed to generate power. The median wage for nuclear power operators is $120,350, according to the Department of Labor.

Constellation has already started restoring and replacing equipment around the plant, including a simulator that will be used to train operators. Restoration activity will happen over the next three years.

Plant manager Trevor Orth said no major issues with equipment were identified during chemical cleaning and pressure testing done earlier this year.

“I’m not saying there is no work to do, but it was kind of like a typical outage,” Orth said. Outages are times when the plant is idled to perform routine maintenance and repairs.

There are known deficiencies that must be fixed, Orth said. For example, some water pipes were crushed for security reasons when the plant shut down. The internal structure of one cooling tower was removed because it had become a fire hazard.

Orth said there are about 100 people who worked at TMI when it was running who are now working to restart the plant, which gives the plant a good base of experience to get it back into operation.

Constellation’s plan expects NRC review and approval of a new operating license to take about two years. It hopes to get an operating license by the fourth quarter of 2027 and start generating power in 2028.

The plans are subject to change as Constellation works through the NRC’s regulatory process.

This slide from Constellation’s Oct. 25, 2024 presentation to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shows the planned timeline for reopening the Three Mile Island nuclear plant.

Here is Constellation’s proposed timeline for reopening the plant:

Now through June 2025: Restore simulator for training

Now through December 2027: Plant restoration

Nov. 2024: Submit Restoration Quality Assurance Plan to NRC (this is a new type of document that takes into account the plant’s current status as undergoing decommissioning and the plan to restart it). Request an exemption from restrictions that prohibit operation of the reactor and placement of fuel into the reactor vessel.

Dec. 2024: Submit post-inspection steam generator report (the steam generators are critical equipment for producing electricity).

Feb. 2025: Submit license amendment request to change name from Three Mile Island to Crane Clean Energy Center.

March 2025: Submit revised decommissioning report and fuel management plan

April through June 2025: Request to rescind decommissioning-related license exemptions. Request NRC to inspect simulator used for training. Begin training licensed and non-licensed nuclear operators.

July 2025: Submit environmental report. Submit operating license and technical specifications amendment, along with an estimated Updated Final Safety Analysis Report.

Sept. 2025: Submit revised emergency plan.

Nov. 2025: Submit revised physical security plan.

April through June 2027: Constellation performs self-assessment of plant.

July 2027: Submit operational readiness letter.

Aug. 2027: Expect NRC and FEMA to finish emergency plan evaluation.

Oct. – Dec. 2027: Return to operating reactor license basis.