Pennsylvania has long served as one of the major powerhouses of American energy generation and is currently the second highest producing state behind Texas. Home to a variety of energy sources including coal, natural gas, and hydraulic fracturing as well as solar, hydro, and nuclear, Pennsylvania has seen it all.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Pennsylvania produces 9,951 trillion Btu through oil, natural gas, and coal––together this represents 10 percent of the total U.S. energy production. Facilities in the Commonwealth generate 17,082 thousand MWh in grid electricity, 35 percent of which is generated through nuclear power. More than double the average states’ share of nuclear power generation. Development of solar and wind, however, has long trailed behind the efforts underway in neighboring states, despite plenty of room for potential growth.
Pennsylvania is strategically located in the grid known as the PJM Interconnect, which provides power to the Mid-Atlantic region and areas as far away as Chicago. PJM is a critical system that has had concerns over reliability in recent years, especially as coal production declines and more producers are making the switch to cleaner, or carbon-free power generation (including nuclear).
Lastly, Pennsylvania has recently been caught in a political maelstrom; as a large electoral swing state the Commonwealth has seen unique investment from both the Biden and Trump administrations. Flush with investment, subject to significant political attention, steeped in diverse energy resource diversity and production infrastructure, and experienced in leveraging new technologies, Pennsylvania is poised for electrical generation reimagination, and everyone is taking their shot.
The Biden administration placed two of its innovative hydrogen hubs in Pennsylvania––the only state to have more than one. It received billions of dollars in grant money through both the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) for clean energy investments for renewable development including nuclear.
When President Trump began his second term this year, he did a quick about-face when he issued Executive Order 14154 Unleashing American Energy, which immediately suspended all IIJA and IRA funds that had been allocated and sharply changed the nation’s energy policy to focus on “oil, natural gas, coal, hydropower, biofuels, critical mineral, and nuclear energy resources” (emphasis added). This was reiterated by Secretary of Energy Chris Wright’s first secretarial order, which among other things declared: “The long-awaited American nuclear renaissance must launch during President Trump’s administration.”
While on the surface the two administration’s energy policies and goals appear to be at odds, one common thread links them: nuclear power. If Pennsylvania would be able to have access to both the IIJA/IRA funds and the new support for regulatory cutbacks and redirection from the Trump administration, it could certainly create a scenario where nuclear could boom.
On February 13, 2025, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro filed a complaint against the Office of Budget Management, The Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of the Interior for their refusal to issue funds related to the IIJA and IRA in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. (Case 2:25-cv-00763). The complaint has three main claims: A claim that the withholding violates 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A)-(C) by making administrative decisions contrary to law, violates 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A) for arbitrary and capricious review, and finally presents a Constitutional claim under U.S. Const. art. I, § 7.
On February 25, 2025, the governor announced that the funds promised to Pennsylvania are “unfrozen” and available for use but that he was going to keep pursuing the lawsuit as there still remains some uncertainty surrounding them. Many of these funds were earmarked for improvements to Pennsylvania’s electrical infrastructure and other clean energy programs. These funds could help accelerate a new age of Pennsylvania power that helps to both reduce carbon emissions and create strong domestic energy generation source for the United States, a goal of both administrations.
Further, on March 11, 2025, the governor announced increase state-level funding and streamlined permitting through the new “Lighting Program.” The program is a self-described “all-of-the-above” energy plan that brings together all forms of clean energy, including nuclear power.[JZ1]
In contrast, continual threatening of federal dollars by the Trump administration could make investors and proponents of nuclear power weary. To most effectively achieve Trump’s own energy independence plan, the administration must avoid any further abrupt shifts in energy funding.
While the courts continue to argue over funding, energy companies have been moving full steam ahead. On February 19, 2025, Constellation Energy announced that things are on track for a smooth restart of Three-Mile Island’s (TMI) Unit I. The project is currently working under the name “Crane Clean Energy Center” and is aimed to help support new artificial intelligence products as outlined in a purchase power agreement with Microsoft.
In order to restart, Constellation will need to go through a thorough Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) process to ensure compliance with NRC regulations for safety. The NRC created guidance for a restart entitled “IMC 2562 Light-Water Reactor Inspection Program for Restart of Reactor Facilities following Permanent Cessation of Power Operations” The guidance was originally written in response to the potential restart of the Palisades Nuclear Plant in New York and is likely to be applied to the restart of TMI Unit I. Based on their current reports with the NRC, Constellation is aiming for a restart date in mid-2027. Less than a decade after the plant was shuttered and ahead of their initial schedule of 2028.
The potential reactivation of TMI has caught worldwide attention. In part because of its much more infamous Unit II incident that occurred in 1979 but also because energy producers in countries such as Germany are eyeing the project as a potential template. Germany has shut down all their nuclear plants following the Fukushima incident in 2011. Now the country is looking for new means to keep up with its increased energy demand and some are suggesting a nuclear renaissance based on TMI’s restart.
If one thing is predictable it is the unpredictability of the future. Now in the Trump 2.0 era, nuclear power may be the last saving grace of the climate change movement. An unlikely alliance perhaps only possible in a state as pragmatic and purple as Pennsylvania.
