Lancaster County commissioners hear public input on restart of Three Mile Island
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Updated: 10:21 PM EST Jan 29, 2025
Lancaster County commissioners hear public input on restart of Three Mile Island
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Updated: 10:21 PM EST Jan 29, 2025
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MICHAEL. YEAH, OBVIOUSLY, A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THREE MILE ISLAND BECAUSE OF THE WORST NUCLEAR DISASTER IN U.S. NUCLEAR COMMERCIAL HISTORY HERE IN THE UNITED STATES. BUT THIS ANNOUNCEMENT TODAY HAD ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THE REACTOR THAT PARTIALLY MELTED DOWN. INSTEAD, IT HAS TO DO WITH THE REACTOR THAT WAS ONLINE UNTIL 2019. AFTER FIVE YEARS OF DORMANCY. CONSTELLATION ENERGY ANNOUNCED IT’S TIME TO BRING NUCLEAR POWER BACK TO THREE MILE ISLAND. UNIT ONE HERE HAS A GREAT LEGACY. 45 YEARS. THIS UNIT RAN STELLAR PERFORMANCE RELIABILITY. CONSTELLATION IS PROMISING $1.6 BILLION IN MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS AND WORK AT REACTOR ONE. SOME BELIEVE THAT EFFORT COULD BRING THOUSANDS OF DIRECT AND INDIRECT JOBS TO THE AREA. WE’RE LOOKING AT SEVEN 800, MAYBE A THOUSAND TRADESMEN HERE FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS. SOME COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND WATCHDOGS WHO REMEMBER THE 1979 INCIDENT THINK THERE ARE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY CONCERNS THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED. I AM ABSOLUTELY CONVINCED THAT THE GOVERNOR AND THE LEGISLATURE AND THE LABOR ARE FULL THROATED AND SUPPORT OF THIS. LOCAL LEADERS ACKNOWLEDGED A RESERVED REACTION FROM SOME IN THE COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO NOTED THERE ARE BIG BOOSTS TO TAX REVENUE THAT COULD COME WITH THE RESTART. THEY ARE VERY POSITIVELY THINKING ABOUT THE REOPENING HERE, COGNIZANT OF A LOT OF OUR RESIDENTS THAT HAVE CONCERNS BECAUSE WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE HERE SINCE THE ACCIDENT AND HAVE REAL CONCERNS ABOUT SAFETY. NOW, A NUMBER OF AGENCIES WILL HAVE TO SIGN OFF ON THE PLAN. THAT INCLUDES THE U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION IN LOND
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Lancaster County commissioners hear public input on restart of Three Mile Island
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Updated: 10:21 PM EST Jan 29, 2025
Lancaster County commissioners will hear public input Wednesday morning about the Three Mile Island nuclear plant restart.Video above: The plan to restart TMI. The group "No TMI Restart" plans to urge commissioners not to cooperate with Constellation Energy's evacuation plan to prevent the plant's restart. The group's director, Gene Stilp, explained his main reason for opposing the plant. "Right now two of the largest corporations in America, Microsoft and Constellation Energy want to run this plant. They get all the benefits while the people here take all the risks. We don't want the people here to be slaves of Constellation Energy and Microsoft," Stilp said.Stilp also said the energy produced will not benefit the Susquehanna Valley but will instead be used by a Microsoft data center in Virginia.The communications manager for the Crane Clean Energy Center – the new name for TMI – said it's going to submit its plan to the Nuclear Regulatory Committee in a few weeks.David Marcheskie added that it would have feedback from the community."For more than 20 years, when Constellation has owned and operated Unit 1, it's had a proven safety track record. Constellation itself is the nation's largest operator of nuclear energy, and our fleet has a proven track record of safety and performance and excellence," he said.The Unit 1 reactor was shut down five years ago due to economic reasons. The restart comes as Microsoft signed a 20-year deal with Constellation to provide power for Microsoft's data centers.Constellation says they expect the refurbished power plant to be online in 2028.TMI restart planConstellation plans to make significant investments to restore:The plant’s turbineGeneratorMain power transformerCooling and control systemsRestarting a nuclear reactor requires:Approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory CommissionA thorough safety and environmental reviewPermits from relevant state and local agenciesConstellation will seek a license renewal to extend plant operations until at least 2054.Video below: Harrisburg 1979, President Jimmy Carter visits TMI after partial meltdown.History of TMI: America's worst nuclear accidentThe Unit 2 reactor at Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Dauphin County partially melted down on March 28, 1979.A combination of equipment malfunctions, design-related problems, and worker errors led to the partial meltdown.The incident prompted major changes in:Emergency response planningOperator trainingRadiation protectionOther areas of nuclear power plant operationsThe U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission increased its oversight due to the incident.Unit 2 was permanently shut down after the accident.Cleanup officially ended in December 1993.Below: Archival video, 1979 - Met-Ed officials announce partial meltdown.
Lancaster County commissioners will hear public input Wednesday morning about the Three Mile Island nuclear plant restart.
Video above: The plan to restart TMI.
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The group "No TMI Restart" plans to urge commissioners not to cooperate with Constellation Energy's evacuation plan to prevent the plant's restart.
The group's director, Gene Stilp, explained his main reason for opposing the plant.
"Right now two of the largest corporations in America, Microsoft and Constellation Energy want to run this plant. They get all the benefits while the people here take all the risks. We don't want the people here to be slaves of Constellation Energy and Microsoft," Stilp said.
Stilp also said the energy produced will not benefit the Susquehanna Valley but will instead be used by a Microsoft data center in Virginia.
The communications manager for the Crane Clean Energy Center – the new name for TMI – said it's going to submit its plan to the Nuclear Regulatory Committee in a few weeks.
David Marcheskie added that it would have feedback from the community.
"For more than 20 years, when Constellation has owned and operated Unit 1, it's had a proven safety track record. Constellation itself is the nation's largest operator of nuclear energy, and our fleet has a proven track record of safety and performance and excellence," he said.
The Unit 1 reactor was shut down five years ago due to economic reasons. The restart comes as Microsoft signed a 20-year deal with Constellation to provide power for Microsoft's data centers.
Constellation says they expect the refurbished power plant to be online in 2028.
TMI restart plan
Constellation plans to make significant investments to restore:
The plant’s turbine
Generator
Main power transformer
Cooling and control systems
Restarting a nuclear reactor requires:
Approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
A thorough safety and environmental review
Permits from relevant state and local agencies
Constellation will seek a license renewal to extend plant operations until at least 2054.
Video below: Harrisburg 1979, President Jimmy Carter visits TMI after partial meltdown.
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History of TMI: America's worst nuclear accident
The Unit 2 reactor at Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Dauphin County partially melted down on March 28, 1979.
A combination of equipment malfunctions, design-related problems, and worker errors led to the partial meltdown.
The incident prompted major changes in:
Emergency response planning
Operator training
Radiation protection
Other areas of nuclear power plant operations
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission increased its oversight due to the incident.
Unit 2 was permanently shut down after the accident.