The Trump administration and a bipartisan group of governors are pressuring PJM Interconnection, the largest U.S. electricity market, to hold a power auction to spur massive construction of novel power plants.
Lawmakers and tech companies building novel data centers face growing anger from Americans over rising electricity rates
PJM operates the largest electric power grid in the U.S., spanning 13 states across America Midwest and Atlantic and includes a concentration of data centers in Virginia. Governors of all states, including Democrats Josh Shapiro (D-PA) and Wes Moore (D-MD), signed the agreement statement released today with Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. CNN Noteshowever, neither the White House nor governors can order an auction. AND Bloomberg reports that PJM was not invited to today’s announcement.
Department of Energy (DOE) says data centers should “pay more for next generation than residential customers.” Specifically, it calls on PJM to allocate the costs of novel infrastructure to data centers unless they run their own power plants or agree to reduce energy operate in the event of outages. According to the Department of Energy, the auction could lead to novel energy generation worth $15 billion.
While the Trump administration pushed for a revival coalgas and nuclear power plants in the US, while at the same time working to stop the construction of wind and solar farms, which have become the main ones the fastest growing sources novel electricity in recent years.