By Dave Marcheskie
As we mark the one-year anniversary of Constellation’s announcement to launch the Crane Clean Energy Center, I can’t help but reflect on the hundreds of conversations I’ve had in the community and the variety of views on this historic project.
For some people, Three Mile Island’s cooling towers are an ominous reminder of what almost happened on the island more than 40 years ago.
But for many others the towers stand as a proud monument to the resilient spirit of our community, and a vivid, enduring reminder of how the work performed here after 1979 helped usher in today’s historic resurgence of support for nuclear power.
After my time as a local journalist here, I joined the TMI Unit 1 team as site communications manager in 2017. With no nuclear technology experience, I was a little concerned about how I would be received, but the men and women who operated the plantwere warm, friendly and I quickly began to learn the culture.
I was very proud to be part of the team and I was there when the plant shut down in 2019. It was a difficult time for all of us. Many of my colleagues were forced to move their families elsewhere.
Today, as Constellation works to launch the Crane Clean Energy Center (Crane for short), hundreds of families are coming back to the area, buying homes and enrolling their children in local schools. It’s been a blast to reunite with those people and get to meet those new to the job.
Here’s what I want people to know – Unit 1 and Unit 2 have vastly different legacies. Unit 1, the reactor we’re restarting, had a long history of outstanding safety and performance that transcended the accident in Unit 2. For 45 years, Unit 1 generated clean, safe and reliable power and earned high marks from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, while incorporating lessons learned from 1979.
Unit 1’s legacy proved that with the right safeguards and an unyielding commitment to operational excellence, nuclear energy is indeed the safest, cleanest and most reliable energy source on the planet. Our standards and technology have only strengthened in recent decades, and they are guiding our restart today.
I’ve also noticed some confusion around the restart and data centers. A year ago, we announced a Power Purchase Agreement, or PPA. In simple terms, a PPA is a long-term contract where a customer, such as a business, university or municipality agrees to buy electricity from a power plant at a set price. Crane’s 800+ megawatts will not be directly hooked up to a data center.
The electricity generated by the plant will flow to the PJM grid and help ensure reliability for all. Without this landmark agreement, those megawatts would not be returning. And the jobs, taxes and economic impacts will remain here in the midstate.
Restarting Crane is not only an energy story, but a community story. Hundreds of local women and men are already on the job, with hundreds more to come. Local businesses are serving more customers.
Tax revenues from the site will support schools, emergency responders and public services. And Constellation is investing directly in the region, with hundreds of thousands of dollars each year going to local charities, education and workforce development programs.
Some folks may still carry memories and concerns from TMI’s past. That’s why we will remain rooted in openness, transparency and community partnership.
We have a rare opportunity at Crane to leverage this revival, rebuild our local economy, build the tax base, improve community services and put more people to work. Let’s build our future together.