US AI Task Force co-chair requests FERC support for co-located Data Centers - Letter

According to a Dec. 5 letter, a co-chair of Congressional Artificial Intelligence Task Force in the U.S. urged federal energy regulators to support the creation of data centers that are directly connected to power stations, citing national safety and competition to dominate global AI.

U.S. Congressman Jay Obernolte stated that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) should act quickly in crafting rules to encourage the expansion and use of AI, which requires large amounts of energy. This includes clearing the way for co-located AI Data Centers.

Obernolte wrote that the development of colocated energy production would be crucial in reducing grid strain, improving reliability, and reducing emissions.

The debate among regulators about the impact of co-location on the reliability and efficiency of the electrical grid has been sparked by the fact that it allows data centers to be powered up more quickly than if the connected to a larger grid.

Last month, FERC, in a 2-1 decision, rejected a request for an Amazon datacenter to be built on the site a Talen Energy Nuclear Power Plant in Pennsylvania. This was after questions were raised about the impact of diverting nuclear electricity from the grid to the center.

Obernolte urged the Commission not to delay any further in making these decisions.

Talen, a private power company, asked FERC for a rehearing of its interconnection contract. Constellation Energy has filed a complaint against FERC regarding co-location. (Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Sandra Maler)

(source: Reuters)