There has been some unofficial conversation about the possibility of reopening of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Dauphin County. The plant was completely shut down in 2019 after more than 40 years in service. TMI was also the site of the 1979 accident which completely crippled the unit two reactor. Terry Fitzpatrick the President and CEO of the Energy Association of Pennsylvania, the main trade group of all utilities in the state. Fitzpatrick joined The Spark to share what this could mean from his perspective.

"TMI closed in in 2019. And there's been a big change since then. I mean, circumstances have really changed. There's a lot of federal money support now available for nuclear power. That's one thing that's changed. The other big thing that's changed is with the growth of data centers in particular, and also more generally, just the switch, the shift towards using more electricity with electric vehicles, etc.. There's more concern now that demand is growing. So all of a sudden, you know, nuclear power didn't look so good or TMI didn't look so good back in 2019. But now the outlook has changed. So that's led to this discussion about the possible restart."

There has been some unofficial conversation about the possibility of reopening of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Dauphin County. The plant was completely shut down in 2019 after more than 40 years in service. TMI was also the site of the 1979 accident which completely crippled the unit two reactor. Terry Fitzpatrick the President and CEO of the Energy Association of Pennsylvania, the main trade group of all utilities in the state. Fitzpatrick joined The Spark to share what this could mean from his perspective.
"TMI closed in in 2019. And there's been a big change since then. I mean, circumstances have really changed. There's a lot of federal money support now available for nuclear power. That's one thing that's changed. The other big thing that's changed is with the growth of data centers in particular, and also more generally, just the switch, the shift towards using more electricity with electric vehicles, etc.. There's more concern now that demand is growing. So all of a sudden, you know, nuclear power didn't look so good or TMI didn't look so good back in 2019. But now the outlook has changed. So that's led to this discussion about the possible restart."

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from <a href="https://www.witf.org">WITF</a>, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at <a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.

The Spark

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at <a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.

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