Sept 20 (Reuters) - Constellation Energy ( CEG ) has

signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft ( MSFT )

that will pave the way for restarting one of its units

at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, the utility firm

said on Friday.

Under the deal, Microsoft ( MSFT ) will purchase energy from the

renewed plant to power its data centers.

Constellation has been planning to revive a unit of the

five-decades-old nuclear power facility in Pennsylvania that was

shut in 2019 due to operational reasons.

The facility's other unit was shut in 1979 after

experiencing a partial meltdown, the most famous commercial

nuclear accident in U.S. history.

The company is awaiting permits to restart operations and is

pursuing a license renewal that will extend plant operations to

at least 2054.