As the eastern U.S. experiences severe cold in the wake of Winter Storm Fern, the Trump administration is taking a novel approach to prevent blackouts: Issuing orders that could force data centers to use backup diesel generators for power.
The orders, which were sent Monday to PJM Interconnection and Duke Energy, stem from an idea Energy Secretary Chris Wright first floated publicly in December when he lamented that backup generators at data centers nationwide were sitting dormant as utilities struggle to keep up with power demand. The requirement affected about a dozen states.
“We have 35 gigawatts of backup generators that are just sitting there today, and you can’t turn them on, that’s just nuts,” Wright said at the time, dismissing federal regulations for air pollution. “Emissions rules or whatever … people, come on.”
Before the storm, the Department of Energy had told reliability coordinators with PJM and Duke that they should be ready to rely on data center’s diesel generators and could ask DOE to issue orders under the Federal Power Act directing companies to use them. Such orders are more commonly used to allow coal plants to exceed air pollution emissions limits during emergencies.
