Trump and Mid-Atlantic governors want tech companies to fund new power plants

The Trump administration and a bipartisan group of governors are pressuring PJM Interconnection, the largest electricity market in the United States, to hold a power auction intended to spur massive construction of new power plants.

PJM operates the largest power grid in the United States, spanning 13 Midwest and Atlantic states and including the concentration of data centers in Virginia. Governors from all states, including Democrats Josh Shapiro (D-PA) and Wes Moore (D-MD), signed the statement released today along with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright. CNN notes, however, that neither the White House nor governors can impose the auction. And Bloomberg reports that PJM was not invited to today’s announcement.

The Department of Energy (DOE) says data centers should “pay more for next generation than residential customers.” Specifically, it calls on PJM to pass the costs of new infrastructure onto data centers unless they bring their own power plants online or agree to reduce their energy consumption in the event of a supply shortage. The auctions could generate $15 billion in new electricity generation, according to the DOE.

While the Trump administration has pushed for a resurgence of coal, gas and nuclear power plants in the United States, it has simultaneously worked to thwart the construction of wind and solar farms that had become the fastest-growing sources of electricity in recent years.