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Home – Energy – Virginia’s Energy Mix May Include Fusion, But Will Require Natural Gas

Virginia’s Energy Mix May Include Fusion, But Will Require Natural Gas

Virginia’s economic future depends on access to reliable, affordable energy. The Commonwealth already hosts more than a third of the planet’s hyperscale data centers, for example, and plans are on the drawing board to deliver even more capacity in the decades ahead.

New data centers may be required to supply their own power at peak times, such as on steamy summer afternoons, to ease demands on the electricity grid. PJM, the grid operator that delivers electricity to Virginia and 12 other states, recently asked federal regulators to force large-load customers to produce their own power.

In addition, this month Gov. Abigail Spanberger proposed a Data Center Accountability Framework. “In the years before I took office, data centers came to Virginia and the Commonwealth did not have a clear or coordinated plan to address their impacts on Virginians—on their electric bills, their water, their land, their air, or their quality of life,” Spanberger said.

In part, the proposal would “limit the amount of electricity data centers can generate from on-site natural gas or behind-the-meter gas generation.” That approach would reduce the capacity available to generate electricity at peak times, according to criticism from key Republicans.

“The governor’s proposal is internally contradictory and raises serious questions about whether it can actually work,” Terry Kilgore, the House minority leader, told Fox News Digital. “What reliable, dispatchable source of power is supposed to fill the gap? That’s not a political question: it’s how the grid works.”

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