US must revive natural gas and nuclear or face energy crisis: Former energy sec.
Former Trump Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette joins Varney & Co. to discuss America’s looming power shortage, the urgent need to boost natural gas and nuclear energy and how red tape is letting China surge ahead in the global energy race.
The Trump administration said Tuesday that it is providing a $1 billion loan to Constellation Energy to help restart the nuclear reactor at the former Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania.
Constellation reached an agreement in late 2024 with Microsoft to restart the 835-megawatt reactor, which ceased operations in 2019 but wasn't fully decommissioned, and would offset the electricity consumption of Microsoft's data center. The other unit at the power plant, which was renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center, closed in 1979 after an accident.
The $1 billion loan was issued by the Energy Department's Loan Programs Office through the Energy Dominance Financing, which was established under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The move follows an executive order from President Donald Trump that called for restarting nuclear power plants.
Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station circa 1979. (Getty Images)
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that the U.S. is "taking unprecedented steps to lower energy costs and bring about the next American nuclear renaissance."
"Constellation's restart of a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania will provide affordable, reliable, and secure energy to Americans across the Mid-Atlantic region. It will also help ensure America has the energy it needs to grow its domestic manufacturing base and win the AI race," Wright said.
The Energy Department said that the announcement is the first to receive a conditional commitment and a financial close under the Trump administration. The loan will partially finance the restart of the reactor.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSFT | MICROSOFT CORP. | 486.52 | -7.27 | -1.47% |
| CEG | CONSTELLATION ENERGY CORP. | 355.50 | +16.16 | +4.76% |
Powered By | ||||
Once the reactor is restarted and pending licenses are approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the 835-megawatt reactor would provide reliable baseload power to the PJM Interconnection region, powering the equivalent of 800,000 homes.
The DOE added that the project will strengthen grid reliability, reduce electricity costs and create over 600 jobs.
Two massive cooling towers being rehabilitated for nuclear power generation under Microsoft at Crane Clean Energy Center, previously known as Three Mile Island, can be seen from across the Susquehanna River on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024 in Middletown, (Wesley Lapointe for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Constellation in June moved up the timeline for restarting the reactor by about a year to 2027 after the PJM fast-tracked its review process to connect the project to the grid.
NUCLEAR WASTE BEING TRANSFORMED INTO PROMISING CANCER TREATMENT AT FORMER MANHATTAN PROJECT SITE
Greg Beard, head of the Energy Department's Loan Programs Office (LPO), told reporters that it was the first time the LPO declared that a company met all conditions for a loan, and it closed at the same time.
He added that Constellation is guaranteeing the loan and the structure of the financial arrangement would protect taxpayers if the project doesn't succeed.
U.S. electricity demand is rising due to the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), which requires ample energy supplies to power data centers that run the large language models which underpin AI models.
The shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, located in the middle of the Susquehanna River, in Middletown, Pennsylvania. (Heather Khalifa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
GET Gxstocks ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
Nuclear energy has emerged as a popular option for tech companies looking to power AI due to the reliability of its energy supplies.
It also entails minimal carbon emissions, which helps those companies comply with climate pledges, though there are challenges posed by the lack of permanent storage for radioactive waste.
Reuters contributed to this report.
