Orban LabsOrban Labs
ExamplesWork With UsInsightsMapAboutContact

Three Mile Island Clears a Restart Gate as SMR Deals Multiply

The most famous nuclear site in America cleared an environmental gate to restart for an AI customer. A regulator issued a preliminary finding of no significant impact for the Three Mile Island unit now contracted to Microsoft. In the same window, a leading small reactor developer signed new agreements to study multi-unit plants for utility and data center load.

Jun 13, 2026 · 4 min read

Summary

Nuclear power for AI moved from commitment to regulatory milestone during this window. On June 3 the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a preliminary Environmental Assessment with a Finding of No Significant Impact for restarting the Crane Clean Energy Center, the former Three Mile Island Unit 1, a roughly 835 MW reactor backed by a 20-year Microsoft power purchase agreement. On June 4, small modular reactor developer X-energy reported first-quarter results and announced two new agreements, including a letter of intent with Talen Energy to assess three or more four-unit Xe-100 plants across Pennsylvania and the PJM region. A separate four-unit Xe-100 project for Dow in Texas cleared the same environmental pathway in late May.

Crane Clean Energy Center (Three Mile Island Unit 1)

The NRC released a preliminary Environmental Assessment with a Finding of No Significant Impact for restarting the Crane Clean Energy Center, announced June 3 with Federal Register publication on June 8. The public comment period closes July 8, a final assessment is expected in September 2026, and restart is targeted as early as 2027. Constellation received FERC approval on June 1 to transfer interconnection rights for the project. The restart is underpinned by a 20-year Microsoft power purchase agreement and a roughly $1 billion Department of Energy loan. NRC issues preliminary EA/FONSI for Crane restart - American Nuclear Society

The symbolism is hard to overstate. Three Mile Island, the site of the most serious nuclear accident in US history, is being brought back specifically to power an AI company. The regulatory pathway is now visibly moving.

X-energy Agreements and Results

X-energy, which completed the largest nuclear IPO on record in April and trades on Nasdaq as XE, reported first-quarter results on June 4. Revenue and grant income reached $43.4 million, up 109 percent year over year, with a net loss of $166.2 million driven largely by a non-cash warrant mark-to-market, and liquidity of $944 million at quarter end. The company cited a pipeline of 144 reactors and roughly 11.5 GW. X-energy Reports First Quarter 2026 Results - GlobeNewswire

Two new agreements accompanied the results:

  • Talen Energy: a letter of intent to assess deploying three or more four-unit Xe-100 plants across Pennsylvania and the PJM region for clean baseload capacity.
  • PPL, LG&E and KU in Kentucky: a collaboration to explore deploying Xe-100 reactors, including for data center load, potentially eligible for the state’s nuclear site readiness pilot program.

X-energy Q1 2026 results - The Globe and Mail

Dow Long Mott Licensing Precedent

On May 18, at the edge of the window, the NRC issued an Environmental Assessment with a Finding of No Significant Impact for the four-unit Xe-100, roughly 320 MWe, Long Mott Generating Station at Dow’s Seadrift site in Texas. It was the first time a 10 CFR Part 50 advanced reactor construction permit application cleared the National Environmental Policy Act through the faster environmental assessment pathway rather than a full environmental impact statement. The use is industrial steam and power rather than a data center, but the licensing precedent matters for every SMR project behind it. Dow gets EA/FONSI for Seadrift project - American Nuclear Society

Conclusions

Nuclear has been the side story of this series because its timelines run to 2029 and beyond. This window did not change those timelines, but it changed the credibility of the path. A restart milestone at Three Mile Island, a faster environmental pathway validated for SMRs, and fresh multi-unit letters of intent all point the same way. Where the public grid is slow and increasingly contested on cost, large customers are willing to underwrite dedicated nuclear capacity directly, often years in advance, to secure power they control.

Our Thinking

These are options, not megawatts on the bar today. None of this power arrives in 2026. But the pattern is consistent with the cycle’s central movement. The AI buildout is assembling dedicated generation across every available technology, and nuclear is the long-dated leg of that portfolio. The Crane restart is the emblem because it converts a decommissioned public asset into private AI baseload under a single corporate contract. The model is repeatable wherever a retired or underused reactor can be matched to a hyperscale buyer.

Watch

  • The Crane comment period close on July 8 and the final environmental assessment in September.
  • Whether the Talen and PPL letters of intent convert into firm agreements or orders.
  • Additional retired-reactor restart candidates matched to AI buyers.
  • Any further use of the environmental assessment pathway to accelerate SMR licensing.
Orban LabsOrban Labs
← AI x Energy

Three Mile Island Clears a Restart Gate as SMR Deals Multiply

The most famous nuclear site in America cleared an environmental gate to restart for an AI customer. A regulator issued a preliminary finding of no significant impact for the Three Mile Island unit now contracted to Microsoft. In the same window, a leading small reactor developer signed new agreements to study multi-unit plants for utility and data center load.

Jun 13, 2026 · 4 min read

Summary

Nuclear power for AI moved from commitment to regulatory milestone during this window. On June 3 the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a preliminary Environmental Assessment with a Finding of No Significant Impact for restarting the Crane Clean Energy Center, the former Three Mile Island Unit 1, a roughly 835 MW reactor backed by a 20-year Microsoft power purchase agreement. On June 4, small modular reactor developer X-energy reported first-quarter results and announced two new agreements, including a letter of intent with Talen Energy to assess three or more four-unit Xe-100 plants across Pennsylvania and the PJM region. A separate four-unit Xe-100 project for Dow in Texas cleared the same environmental pathway in late May.

Crane Clean Energy Center (Three Mile Island Unit 1)

The NRC released a preliminary Environmental Assessment with a Finding of No Significant Impact for restarting the Crane Clean Energy Center, announced June 3 with Federal Register publication on June 8. The public comment period closes July 8, a final assessment is expected in September 2026, and restart is targeted as early as 2027. Constellation received FERC approval on June 1 to transfer interconnection rights for the project. The restart is underpinned by a 20-year Microsoft power purchase agreement and a roughly $1 billion Department of Energy loan. NRC issues preliminary EA/FONSI for Crane restart - American Nuclear Society

The symbolism is hard to overstate. Three Mile Island, the site of the most serious nuclear accident in US history, is being brought back specifically to power an AI company. The regulatory pathway is now visibly moving.

X-energy Agreements and Results

X-energy, which completed the largest nuclear IPO on record in April and trades on Nasdaq as XE, reported first-quarter results on June 4. Revenue and grant income reached $43.4 million, up 109 percent year over year, with a net loss of $166.2 million driven largely by a non-cash warrant mark-to-market, and liquidity of $944 million at quarter end. The company cited a pipeline of 144 reactors and roughly 11.5 GW. X-energy Reports First Quarter 2026 Results - GlobeNewswire

Two new agreements accompanied the results:

X-energy Q1 2026 results - The Globe and Mail

Dow Long Mott Licensing Precedent

On May 18, at the edge of the window, the NRC issued an Environmental Assessment with a Finding of No Significant Impact for the four-unit Xe-100, roughly 320 MWe, Long Mott Generating Station at Dow’s Seadrift site in Texas. It was the first time a 10 CFR Part 50 advanced reactor construction permit application cleared the National Environmental Policy Act through the faster environmental assessment pathway rather than a full environmental impact statement. The use is industrial steam and power rather than a data center, but the licensing precedent matters for every SMR project behind it. Dow gets EA/FONSI for Seadrift project - American Nuclear Society

Conclusions

Nuclear has been the side story of this series because its timelines run to 2029 and beyond. This window did not change those timelines, but it changed the credibility of the path. A restart milestone at Three Mile Island, a faster environmental pathway validated for SMRs, and fresh multi-unit letters of intent all point the same way. Where the public grid is slow and increasingly contested on cost, large customers are willing to underwrite dedicated nuclear capacity directly, often years in advance, to secure power they control.

Our Thinking

These are options, not megawatts on the bar today. None of this power arrives in 2026. But the pattern is consistent with the cycle’s central movement. The AI buildout is assembling dedicated generation across every available technology, and nuclear is the long-dated leg of that portfolio. The Crane restart is the emblem because it converts a decommissioned public asset into private AI baseload under a single corporate contract. The model is repeatable wherever a retired or underused reactor can be matched to a hyperscale buyer.

Watch