Maryland counties that have put new data center development on hold are being warned that the pause is unlikely to stop those projects for good.
Officials from the state and the regional grid say this is the moment for local governments to set conditions. If they do not, communities could wind up dealing with more pressure on the electric system while residents shoulder some of the expense.
Here's what to know
At the MACo summer gathering in Ocean City, speakers described county moratoriums on data centers as a chance to negotiate, not a long-term solution by themselves.
According to Maryland Matters, Ian Ullman, deputy director of the Maryland Energy Administration, said counties should use that time to define exactly what they expect from developers.
"Counties willing to negotiate can extract meaningful investment in their community's futures while mitigating impact to their communities and residents," Ullman said, as quoted by the outlet. "New schools, road upgrades, community centers, long-term support packages for local initiatives — it's all on the table."
"Make your wish list. This is the time."
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Constellation Energy senior vice president of government affairs Mason Emnett offered local officials much the same advice.
"Engage, roll up your sleeves, identify what matters to you, what matters to your community, and in our experience, you'll find partners who come forward and want to be in the solution space and get to yes," Emnett said.
That advice arrives as opposition to proposed data centers continues in Maryland. As reported by Maryland Matters, in Southern Maryland, for instance, Amazon Web Services pulled back from a planned project at Constellation's Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant after public backlash helped reshape the county council.
More background
Officials say the debate extends beyond zoning or changes to nearby neighborhoods. The electric grid is a central concern as well.
According to Jason Stanek, executive director of governmental services at PJM Interconnection, Maryland is particularly vulnerable because its network of high-voltage transmission lines is limited. As Maryland Matters reported, the Eastern Shore has none of those lines, the Western panhandle has only one running through it, and just a small number are located near the Interstate 95 corridor.
Maryland People's Counsel David Lapp said, as the outlet reported, PJM expects electricity demand to surge by 2046 by an amount equal to adding "about seven states of Maryland" to the region's load. He said that projected increase is "almost entirely due to data centers projected to arrive in record time and in concentrated locations."
What's being done?
Officials say a major goal is to keep data centers from shifting the costs they generate onto residential customers.
Lapp said Maryland itself is not expected to account for most of the projected growth. In his presentation, 93% of it was projected to come from Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.
His office is taking part in proceedings at PJM, Maryland Matters reported, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the state level in an effort to protect Maryland residents from paying for infrastructure built to serve large new electricity loads.
PJM is also proposing a new reliability rule. Under that approach, new data centers could still plug into the system, but those without on-site generation would be cut off ahead of traditional consumers, including households, during a power emergency. Backup generators would then be expected to keep those facilities running.
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