The PJM Interconnection's independent market monitor has urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to attach conditions to Mara Holdings' planned $1.5 billion purchase of the Long Ridge power plant in Hannibal, Ohio, Utility Dive reported June 1. Monitoring Analytics said the deal should not be approved unless the Mara subsidiary commits to keeping the 522-megawatt gas-fired plant's capacity and energy in PJM's wholesale markets rather than diverting it to serve data center load.
The market monitor argued that allowing the plant's output to be redirected to data centers would harm PJM ratepayers at a time when power supplies across the 13-state grid region are tight. It called the effect of data center load growth on market competition the most critical issue facing PJM's markets, adding that a comprehensive solution has not been defined.
Mara, a Bitcoin and digital infrastructure company, announced the agreement with FTAI Infrastructure on April 30. The deal covers the power plant and 1,600 acres, including the assumption of at least $785 million in debt. The site supports more than 1 gigawatt of potential power capacity and 600 megawatts of data center load, and Mara already operates a 200-megawatt Bitcoin mining facility there. Chairman and CEO Fred Thiel told analysts the company plans to keep selling Long Ridge power into PJM markets and pair any new data centers with new generation, with roughly 400 megawatts of additional capacity targeted by 2030.
Source: Utility Dive -- https://www.utilitydive.com/news/pjm-market-monitor-mara-data-center-long-ridge/821574/