An order last week from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission blocking the expansion of an Amazon data center at a Pennsylvania nuclear plant is stirring debate about whether similar nuclear deals could be in jeopardy.
Shares of nuclear developers Talen Energy, Oklo, Centrus Energy, NANO Nuclear, Vistra, and NuScale Power fell by 2 percent to 29 percent on Monday as industry stocks across the board took a hit from FERC’s order. The order — which affected Talen’s Susquehanna Nuclear facility — puts a spotlight on a separate 20-year contract between Constellation Energy and Microsoft to restart one unit at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in the state.
But experts and insiders say FERC’s decision wasn’t a regulatory blow to either nuclear power or other projects that co-locate data centers near existing power plants. Rather, they see the decision as a punt.
“The big takeaway I had from the commission’s order is that they need more information on impacts” of data centers, Kent Chandler, the former chair of Kentucky’s Utility Regulator and a fellow at the R Street think tank, said in an interview.
