EPISODE · Oct 24, 2024 · 28 MIN

Three Mile Island Rises Again

from Grid Talk · host DOE|Advanced Grid Research

The sister plant to the ill-fated Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear reactor in Pennsylvania is getting a new life. In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg interviews Dan Eggers, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Constellation. Constellation will pay $1.6 billion to refurbish Unit 1 at Three Mile Island by 2028. It sits near Unit 2, the reactor that suffered a partial meltdown in 1979.  Unit 1 is an independent reactor, and its long-term operation was not impacted by the Unit 2 accident. Unit 1 closed in 2019 due to financial conditions, but Microsoft has now agreed to purchase all the energy from the plant to meet demand for its data centers.“They are undeniably a sustainability leader,” Eggers said of Microsoft. “When we realized that this was a viable project in the sense that we could bring it back from a mechanical and technical perspective, we brought the opportunity to them, explained what it could be, and they were very enthusiastic.” Eggers says the need for additional generation made them take another look at TMI Unit 1. “We ran it for 20 years. It ran incredibly well, safely, reliably, dependably over that time,” said Eggers.Daniel L. Eggers is the executive vice president and chief financial officer for Constellation. In this role, he is responsible for leading the execution of all financial activities for the Constellation business. He serves on the Constellation Executive Committee, which sets strategy and direction for the company.Eggers joined Exelon in 2016. Prior to that he was with Credit Suisse for 18 years with a focus on energy-related sectors. Eggers received a bachelor's degree in Finance from Texas Christian University and received the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2000. He also completed the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Reactor Technology Course in 2023.