A shuttered Maryland coal plant could get a new lease on life thanks to the data center boom. But it’s unclear if the plant would burn coal or be converted to use another fuel.
TeraWulf, a data center developer, announced last month it had reached a deal to acquire the Morgantown Generating Station, a former coal plant about an hour southeast of Washington. The sale is subject to approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
TeraWulf executives have said they plan to use the power plant to sell electricity to potential data center customers, but they have offered few details about how they intend to generate the power. The uncertainty has raised concerns from consumer advocates. In a Wednesday filing with FERC, the watchdog group Public Citizen said it was worried that Morgantown could resume burning coal, and urged the commission to make TeraWulf disclose more details about its plans. Morgantown’s two coal turbines shut down in 2022. Four smaller oil-fired units remain operational.
“It’s one thing to battle a data center, it’s another to battle the reopening of these coal units,” said Tyson Slocum, who leads the energy program at Public Citizen.
