US Backs Three Mile Island Nuclear Restart With $1 Billion Loan To Constellation (cnbc.com)
(Tuesday November 18, 2025 @10:30PM (BeauHD)
from the back-to-life dept.)
- Reference: 0180132073
- News link: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/11/19/0026252/us-backs-three-mile-island-nuclear-restart-with-1-billion-loan-to-constellation
- Source link: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/18/trump-nuclear-three-mile-island-crane-loan-constellation-ceg.html
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNBC:
> The Trump administration will [1]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 [2]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 [3]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.
[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/18/trump-nuclear-three-mile-island-crane-loan-constellation-ceg.html
[2] https://slashdot.org/story/24/09/20/156206/microsoft-taps-three-mile-island-nuclear-plant-to-power-ai
[3] https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/19/05/08/2127223/three-mile-island-nuclear-plant-to-close-latest-symbol-of-struggling-industry
> The Trump administration will [1]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 [2]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 [3]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.
[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/18/trump-nuclear-three-mile-island-crane-loan-constellation-ceg.html
[2] https://slashdot.org/story/24/09/20/156206/microsoft-taps-three-mile-island-nuclear-plant-to-power-ai
[3] https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/19/05/08/2127223/three-mile-island-nuclear-plant-to-close-latest-symbol-of-struggling-industry
Good use. (Score:4, Insightful)
by gurps_npc ( 621217 )
Lets face it, no one is going to use the land around the Three Mile Island power plant for anything besides a nuclear power plant. The reputation is too bad for anything else. Can you see a real estate agent trying to sell it?
"It has a certain glow about it."
But reactivating a plant that never had a problem and installing a server farm on/near it makes a lot of sense.
Re: (Score:3)
> ... going to corporations. One billion dollars no less. Socialize the risk, privatize the profits.
Oh stop it. This is a loan to Constellation energy to help finance the cost to restart a nuclear power plant by 2027.
Re: (Score:2)
>> ... going to corporations. One billion dollars no less. Socialize the risk, privatize the profits.
> Oh stop it. This is a loan to Constellation energy to help finance the cost to restart a nuclear power plant by 2027.
Why should he stop exactly explaining the situation?
Lenders take on the risk of a default, and when the government lends money, the risk is socialized.
The loan is being made to a private, for-profit corporation, who will be able to keep any profits generated by this scheme (however unlikely that may be).
Whatever activity the loan is for is irrelevant, whether it's for cranking up a crusty old nuclear power plant, or for bailing out a Wall Street firm during a market panic.
Re: (Score:2)
It has a guarantee to protect taxpayers money. How could it possibly end up costing us billions?
Re: (Score:2)
So they fold corporation on paper, walk away from the loan and open up a new corporation that gets to use the facility.
Dude it's 2025, by now you should know how this game is played.
Re: (Score:2)
The profits are taxed.