Baltimore-based Constellation Energy has not decided if it will pursue restart of its Three Mile Island Unit 1 reactor in Pennsylvania, which was shuttered for economic reasons in 2019, the company said Thursday in an email response to an inquiry from Exchange Monitor.
“Restarting closed nuclear plants offers another opportunity for the industry to add clean, reliable energy to the grid, as is currently underway at Palisades in Michigan,” Constellation said in part of a longer statement.
That effort “has sparked discussions” about Three Mile Island-1, Constellation said. But “we have made no decision on the future of the plant.”
The US Army is seeking to prototype an approach to on-site microreactor nuclear power plants with aims to discontinue relying on offsite electricity by 2030, according to an open solicitation that was emailed to the Exchange Monitor.
According to the solicitation, the Army relies on off-site electricity providers, leaving it to vulnerabilities such as dangerous weather and cybersecurity threats. The Army seeks a new approach to use new advances in nuclear technology to provide reliable power with aims to support the military mission.
The Army is conducting the solicitation through the Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations program. The submission deadline is 11:59 p.m. eastern time on June 21.
The Tennessee Valley Authority named Chris Reneau the new site vice president of the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant effective June 12.
Reneau served in the U.S. Navy, then joined TVA in 2009. His most recent position was as the vice president of operations support at TVA Nuclear Fleet Center in Chattanooga.
“Chris brings proven, operationally focused leadership experience within TVA and from his time in the U.S. Navy,” Tim Rausch, TVA’s chief nuclear officer, said in a TVA news release.