Nuclear growing, but power demand still a problem

(The Center Square) — The growth of data centers has been good news for nuclear power in Pennsylvania. But meeting growing demand in the future could be a struggle for the electric grid.

Local political support stood behind reviving Three Mile Island in the commonwealth and Constellation Energy announced a deal in late September to bring it out of retirement and supply power for a Microsoft data center, keeping the plant running through 2054.

“The arrangement is the second this year in which a nuclear power plant owner has agreed to supply a data center with dedicated power as data center owners look for large and reliable sources of electricity supply for planned increases in demand,” The Energy Information Administration noted.

The other agreement was also based in Pennsylvania; Talen Energy’s Susquehanna nuclear plant will provide power to an Amazon data center.

“Nuclear power plants also produce electricity without directly emitting carbon dioxide, a consideration for technology firms investing in energy-intensive data centers that are trying to meet self-imposed emissions reduction goals,” the EIA noted. “The consistent generation from nuclear power plants will ensure that a data center has access to sufficient electricity around-the-clock, while also providing access to a large source of CO2 emission-free power.”

Data centers have driven the demand for more power, but Pennsylvania has lagged other states. Virginia has become a world leader, with 70% of the global share of data centers ending up there. That growth has been fueled by its buildout of fiber networks — along with tax breaks.

One count finds almost 500 data centers in Virginia, whereas Pennsylvania has 71, trailing Ohio’s 161 centers.

But future growth is uncertain; the EIA cited open questions about capacity and energy efficiency.

The future growth of the power grid, too, is uncertain. Pennsylvania is part of the PJM grid, which covers 65 million people in 13 states and Washington, D.C. State leaders have warned that red tape and delays, along with early retirements of coal plants, have made it more difficult for the grid to deal with growing demand. Some legislators have proposed legislation to create a subsidy fund for grid upgrades to boost reliability.

The rise of artificial intelligence has made those problems more pressing; Ohio expects power demand to grow by “three New York Cities” by 2028, straining the PJM grid.