Environmental Stewardship

Changes to climate and weather patterns pose a significant challenge to our world today, but Constellation is ready to be part of the solution as a leading clean energy producer.

At Constellation, managing climate impacts and risks is a key part of our business. We are proud of our established record as a leading producer of clean, reliable energy and a strong advocate for climate adaptation and mitigation. This includes generating about 10% of the nation's zero-carbon energy. Our fleet of nuclear, hydro, wind, solar, geothermal and natural gas generating facilities helps achieve a cleaner, more reliable energy future for America.

In 2024, the Constellation fleet produced 188 million megawatt hours of clean electricity – enough to power the equivalent of 16 million homes and avoid more than 126 million metric tons of carbon emissions.

Air emissions, including those contributing to ground-level ozone and particulates, can negatively affect public health and the environment. Constellation is committed to operating a low-emission intensity energy portfolio to minimize air emissions while meeting the nation's electricity needs.

Much of Constellation's business depends on access to reliable and adequate water supplies. Water is essential to produce electricity – driving our hydroelectric facilities and cooling our thermal generation stations.

Water is a shared resource critical to communities, economic development and wildlife, and we work to minimize our impact while preserving its long-term viability.

Addressing site-specific water management practices and risks and collaborating with relevant stakeholders at the local level helps us identify and address specific water challenges most effectively.

Looking ahead, water access will be a key challenge for Constellation and many other businesses globally. Water scarcity is a critical risk for our industry and may be exacerbated by the effects of climate change. Changing weather patterns and growing competition for existing resources make effective water management increasingly essential. Constellation continues to refine our approaches through strategic assessments like climate scenario analyses.

As the largest nuclear power plant operator in the U.S., nuclear safety is a fundamental part of Constellation's business culture and license to operate. Our nuclear fleet has one of the best safety records in the industry.

We diligently manage nuclear byproducts – both low-level radioactive material and spent nuclear fuel – safely, securely and responsibly. We ensure we remain in compliance with the stringent requirements from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Learn more about our culture of safety.

Our operational footprint encompasses large regions of land with diverse flora and fauna that also borders a variety of waterbodies. We embrace our responsibility to protect wildlife and habitats and work to strengthen the health and awareness of the surrounding biodiversity through partnerships with experts, environmental organizations and regulatory agencies. Constellation has an internal program focused on creating high-quality wildlife habitats and implementing environmental education programs. Our work includes restoring fragile ecosystems, controlling invasive species, enhancing pollinator habitats and partnerships with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to build a community of leaders.

Constellation has worked to restore migratory species passage for many years along the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania and Maryland, where we operate the Conowingo Hydroelectric Project and the Muddy Run Pumped Storage Project.
 

• Habitat Improvement Projects: Pursuant to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection 401 Water Quality Certificate for the Muddy Run Pumped Storage Project, Constellation provides annual funding to the Lancaster County Conservation District, York County Conservation District and Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission for the implementation of agricultural pasture and barnyard best-management practices. These address sediment introduction and support habitat improvement projects like stream restoration.  
  
  
• American Shad: This species is a source of concern for resource agencies due to a decline in the population since the late 1800s, occurring in rivers both with and without dams. Since the early 1970s, Constellation and our predecessor companies operating the Conowingo Hydroelectric Project have facilitated migration of American shad within the Susquehanna River Basin.
  
  
• American Eel: We continue coordinating the Eel Passage Advisory Group in support of the Eel Management Plan commitments under the Pennsylvania 401 Water Quality Certification (WQC) finalized in December 2014 for the Muddy Run Pumped Storage Project Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license. As required by the Pennsylvania WQC, Constellation installed a permanent eel trap consisting of one collection tank, three holding tanks and one ramp at Conowingo, operating since May 1, 2017. We also operate a permanent eel trapping facility in the Octoraro Creek watershed.