Developers have proposed 10 gas plants and several battery sites in southwestern Pennsylvania, with more than 20 gigawatts of gas generation in PJM’s queue. Data-center power demand is a major driver, but the proposals are not guaranteed to be built.
The gas and battery proposals together are reported at 22 GW. Pennsylvania has about 45 GW of installed power capacity, while peak demand is roughly 30 GW. The article cites projected data-center electricity use as a major driver. Constellation executive Mike Kramer said a large data center was about 10 MW two to three years ago; facilities under 200 MW are now unusual, and some require 1 GW.
The pipeline does not guarantee construction: Monitoring Analytics found 50% to 90% of facilities seeking grid connections were withdrawn. PJM tightened interconnection rules to favor credible projects. Developers seek contracts from large users before committing billions; Enverus estimates a 1-GW gas plant may cost up to $2.5 billion. Planned batteries could shift power to times the grid needs it most. Pennsylvania’s power-sector air pollution in 2023 was about half its 2005 level; Homer City Generation has state approval to release 17.6 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, more than a quarter of the state’s 2023 electric-power pollution.
