Constellation Energy to Restart Three Mile Island Unit 1 to Sell Power to Microsoft; This Is Not the Unit That Melted Down in 1979; Shares Rise in Early Trading

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

Constellation Energy plans to start generating nuclear power at Three Mile Island Unit 1, near Harrisburg, by 2028 to serve Microsoft’s growing need for energy.

Shares of Constellation jumped in early trading.

Unit 1 operated safely until five years ago, Constellation said in a statement. Unit 1 was not affected when Unit 2 suffered a partial meltdown in 1979, Constellation said.

Constellation and Microsoft have a 20-year power-purchase deal. Big technology companies are investing in data centers as the use of Artificial Intelligence increases. The centers require immense amounts of energy. Nuclear power is viewed as a green alternative to burning fossil fuels.

Allentown-based utility PPL Corp. is also in talks with data-center developers, the company said earlier this year.

Constellation’s plan for Three Mile Island is subject to approval by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The Three Mile Island energy plant is on the Susquehanna River in Londonderry Township, Dauphin County.

Constellation Energy is based in Baltimore. The power company is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CEG. The closing price Thursday was $208.50, but the stock jumped in early trading Friday to $224.52 as of 8:29 a.m.