Nuclear uprates, PJM cost fights and $260bn in canceled projects

The big picture: Existing nuclear plants became the fastest source of firm clean capacity this week, with Google's 890 MW uprate deal with Constellation and a conditional $4.2 billion DOE loan for Vistra's fleet. The harder constraint is local and regulatory: Heatmap counts at least $260 billion in data center investment canceled this year after community opposition, DOE wants PJM to assign large-load costs to the loads that cause them, and Denmark moved data centers to the back of its grid queue.

Power and grid

Google signed a PPA with Constellation for 890 MW of nuclear uprates at six PJM plants by 2032. The uprates cover 11 reactors in Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and Google says its total enabled new nuclear capacity from uprates and restarts now exceeds 1.5 GW. Google

DOE offered a conditional loan commitment of up to $4.2 billion for Vistra's nuclear uprates in Pennsylvania and Ohio. DOE says the work at Beaver Valley, Davis-Besse and Perry would preserve nearly 4 GW of baseload power and add 433 MW, but the loan is not final until Vistra meets technical, legal, environmental and financial conditions. US Department of Energy

PJM approved 2.1 GW of storage and gas uprate projects in its first expedited interconnection round. The three projects, two Engie storage plants of 860 MW and 800 MW and a 455 MW LS Power uprate at Hunterstown, are expected online in mid-2029, and the track is capped at 10 requests a year through 2027. Utility Dive

MISO proposed a 120-day study for loads above 200 MW that pair with new generation in the same zone. Separately, its plan to speed a 71 GW legacy interconnection cycle drew support at FERC, with MISO asking for approval by Oct. 19 to avoid a delay of at least 18 months. Utility Dive

McKinsey projects data center power demand growing 24% a year through 2030, with supply likely to lag. More than 60% of operators now plan to combine on-site generation with grid access, according to McKinsey. Data Center Knowledge

Maryland procured 440 MW and 1,760 MWh of storage in its first bulk round, short of an 800 MW target. The source ties the shortfall to the continuing capacity crunch in PJM. Utility Dive

Policy

DOE urged PJM to file fixes to its 6.8 GW backstop procurement by Oct. 29 so existing customers do not pay for data center load. DOE backed allocating costs on updated load forecasts with project-level tracking of large loads, and FERC's hearing process runs through February. Utility Dive

At least $260 billion in US data center investment was canceled this year after sustained local opposition, Heatmap Pro found. About $130 billion of that came in the three months to Sept. 30, roughly $1 trillion faces some opposition, and Heatmap says the figures are likely an undercount. Heatmap

Denmark's Parliament adopted a grid emergency plan that puts data centers at the back of the connection queue. The measures were first proposed over the summer. Data Center Dynamics

The Wilderness Society asked Congress for a moratorium on data centers on public lands. Two bills are pending, from Rep. Rashida Tlaib and Sen. Ron Wyden, and LCV and NRDC are planning a $250,000 Washington ad buy against fossil-powered data centers. Heatmap

Virginia's new energy plan models four paths to net zero by 2050 with 1.2 to 1.8 GW of new solar a year. The plan assumes 85% demand growth, does not have the force of law, and suggests the tech industry could contribute $265 billion through 2050. Canary Media

Carbon and disclosure

Sesterce plans a $10 billion, 200 MW AI campus on a former paper mill site in Jämsä, Finland, rising to 600 MW. The company pledges one MW of new Finnish renewable generation for each MW it consumes within 10 years of operation, plus closed-loop liquid cooling supplemented with harvested rainwater. Data Center Dynamics

Finland's LVV requested reports on about 300 hectares of forest felled at Google's Muhos data center site. The clearing happened while the environmental impact assessment was still underway, and Google denies any illegal logging. Data Center Dynamics

Capital

CoreWeave will lease 240 MW at AdaniConneX's Navi Mumbai campus, with the first phase due mid-2028. CoreWeave has an option to expand to a potential 580 MW and had 4.2 GW of contracted power as of August. Data Center Dynamics

Boost Run signed a $525.6 million GPU cloud contract with Cohere. Cohere can terminate and recover prepaid amounts if a minimum amount of infrastructure is not delivered by July 15, 2027. Data Center Dynamics

Broadcom is reportedly seeking $50 billion and SpaceX $40 billion in financing for AI compute purchases. These are reported plans, not confirmed deals. Data Center Dynamics

Applied Digital announced a 1 GW campus in Finland, and ILI Group's 600 MW, £5 billion Cato proposal in Fife, Scotland, could remove a 1,000-year-old castle. Neither project has disclosed a power source or confirmed schedule. Data Center Dynamics

One number

$260 billion

That is the minimum value of US data center investment canceled in 2026 after sustained local opposition, according to Heatmap Pro. About half of the projects that met backlash this year were ultimately canceled.

Have a tip, a correction, or a project we are missing? Reply to this email or write to editor@carbonneutraldatacenter.com.