Trump Administration Revives Three Shuttered Nuclear Plants to Power Data Centers

The Trump administration is backing efforts to restart three retired nuclear plants in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Iowa. The Department of Energy has made up to $4.4 billion in loans available for the Crane Clean Energy Center on Three Mile Island, Palisades in Michigan, and Duane Arnold in Iowa. Together the plants would add about 2.25 gigawatts of carbon-free capacity, enough for roughly 2 million homes, though much of the power is already contracted by Microsoft and Google for data centers. Palisades is the furthest along. Holtec has started loading fuel but paused after a fuel assembly tilted, and the plant needs to be in service by March 2027 under its power purchase agreements. Duane Arnold is expected back by early 2029, and Constellation aims to restart Three Mile Island in 2027. No commercial reactor has ever restarted after beginning decommissioning, so these are uncharted projects. The restarts have support because they can deliver zero-carbon electricity faster than new builds. Critics argue federal loans are unnecessary when tech companies are willing to pay a premium, and safety groups point to climate risks at older plants. The outcome at Palisades will likely set the precedent for whether other closed reactors get a second look.