Constellation Energy reported new power purchase agreements and Crane nuclear facility restart progress in Q2 2026.

Constellation Energy signed new long-term power purchase agreements during the second quarter that will provide approximately 920 MW of nuclear power to new partners. The PPAs range from 15 to 20 years and are set to commence between 2029 and 2032.

While Constellation President and CEO Joe Dominguez did not name most of the customers, he disclosed that Walmart was among the signatories. In June, the two companies announced an agreement for Constellation to supply 176 MW from its Dresden nuclear power plant to support a Walmart distribution center in Illinois. Dominguez noted this was Walmart's first nuclear PPA and the first of its kind involving a large retailer. "Walmart is helping to define how corporate customers think about nuclear energy," he said during the earnings call.

Roughly 890 MW of the 920 MW will come from existing power generation, with the remainder sourced from a planned 30-MW uprate at Dresden that will support the Walmart agreement.

During the earnings call, Dominguez emphasized the critical role of existing generation in meeting immediate data center needs. He characterized existing power generation and infrastructure as the "bedrock" of "this early phase of the data economy," arguing that new facilities cannot be deployed quickly enough to serve the sector's rapid growth. "If that's the case, we might as well hand over the keys to China," he said, emphasizing that waiting for new power plants would stall economic development. "We're never going to build this economy if the outcome is going to be we've got to wait for new power plants to be built before we can connect any data center."

The restart of Three Mile Island-1, renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center, advanced in the second quarter when both the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved fuel license amendments and waiver requests. Dominguez indicated this clears the path for restart in the second half of 2027.

Constellation submitted subsequent license renewal applications for two of its three New York power plants during the quarter. In June, it filed for the single-unit Ginna plant, and in April, the NRC accepted its application for Nine Mile Point-1. When asked about new nuclear investment in New York, Dominguez cautioned that while discussions with Governor Kathy Hochul's administration were productive, there was "nothing right now I would describe as imminently on the horizon for investment in new nuclear." He suggested New York's measured approach serves as a model for Illinois, where Constellation operates six plants and is engaged with communities interested in hosting new facilities.

Constellation's nuclear fleet produced 44,160 gigawatt-hours in the second quarter, down from 45,170 gigawatt-hours in the second quarter of 2025. The fleet achieved a 93 percent capacity factor, compared to 94.8 percent one year prior, excluding Constellation's share of Salem and South Texas Project. Planned refueling outage days totaled 86 in the second quarter, up from 41 in the same period of 2025, while non-refueling outage days declined to 20 from 22 year-over-year.