USA, Pennsylvania: Constellation Energy has ordered a main power transformer for the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor in Pennsylvania. The company is attempting to restart the reactor, pushing ahead with work critical to the plant’s revival.
The transformer will be the biggest single piece of equipment which will need to be replaced for restart of the plant, and it will cost about $100 million. The owner of the plant Constellation is investing $1.6 billion to revive the operation over the next four years.
When deciding whether to move forward with a restart, Constellation surveyed the site to determine the condition of essential infrastructure and equipment, much of which has sat idle since the plant shut in 2019. Constellation Vice President of Generation Bryan Hanson said that the plant is in great condition.
Constellation signed a 20-year power contract with Microsoft to help restart the plant. The nuclear reactor, located on an island in the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, could supply 835 MW of power to offset Microsoft’s data center electricity consumption.
No modern US nuclear power plant has been restarted after fully shutting down. Three Mile Island is known as the site of the worst nuclear power accident in US history, as in 1979, a unit experienced a partial meltdown which caused no deaths but released small amounts of radioactive gases and raised concerns about the potential health effects on surrounding communities. That unit will not be restarted.
Separate Unit 1, which Constellation wants to resurrect, shut in 2019 for economic reasons. Unit 1 could begin producing power in 2028, but there is a series of physical hurdles and US and local regulations that must be completed first. Among other investments in resuming operations at the plant are work on the reactor’s turbine, generator, and cooling systems.
Source: Reuters
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