{"id":2343267,"date":"2024-09-19T08:37:01","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T12:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/can-pennsylvanias-nuclear-power-save-the-pjm-grid-maybe-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-09-19T08:39:58","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T12:39:58","slug":"can-pennsylvanias-nuclear-power-save-the-pjm-grid-maybe-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/can-pennsylvanias-nuclear-power-save-the-pjm-grid-maybe-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Pennsylvania\u2019s nuclear power save the PJM grid? Maybe &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcan-pennsylvanias-nuclear-power-save-the-pjm-grid-maybe-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2343267&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the role of\u200c nuclear power \u200bin supporting Pennsylvania&#8217;s electricity grid, particularly in \u2062the context of increasing demand from new technologies like data centers and artificial intelligence. Pennsylvania, second\u200b only to Illinois in its reliance on nuclear energy, faces a significant challenge as power demands\u200d are \u200cset \u200dto rise. <\/p>\n<p>Rep. Tom Mehaffie highlights the urgency of addressing grid reliability issues, suggesting that reviving the Three Mile Island nuclear plant could be a swift solution\u200b to meet electricity needs. Unlike the \u2062lengthy processes\u200c involved in\u200b building new power projects, reopening existing\u2064 plants may provide a quicker response to rising energy demands.<\/p>\n<p>The article also notes that\u200b while there \u2062is\u2064 optimism\u200d for\u2062 nuclear \u200bpower&#8217;s future growth, with worldwide capacity potentially tripling by 2050, the current regulatory landscape complicates\u200b efforts to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-manchin-again-urges-biden-to-reinstate-keystone-xl-pipeline\/\" title=\"Joe Manchin Again Urges Biden To Reinstate Keystone XL Pipeline\">increase energy production<\/a>. Furthermore, it \u2064emphasizes that energy generation decisions are fragmented across states with no\u200d overarching authority, which could\u2062 hinder the development of new\u2062 energy sources.<\/p>\n<p>Experts warn \u2062that\u200c all\u200c new energy generation projects face significant delays due to regulatory approvals and interconnection issues, which increases costs and prolongs development timelines. The future of Three Mile Island\u2019s\u2064 revival, however, ultimately lies with Constellation Energy,\u200d the plant&#8217;s owner.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Can Pennsylvania&rsquo;s nuclear power save the PJM grid? Maybe<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1763999\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>(The Center Square) &mdash; Pennsylvania relies on nuclear power more than any other state except Illinois &mdash; and there&rsquo;s talk of growth.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>One way would be to revive Three Mile Island, and it has some political support as electricity demand keeps building.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We have a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/californias-energy-meltdown-proves-a-stunning-failure-of-progressive-ideology\/\" title=\"California\u2019s Energy Meltdown Proves a Stunning Failure of Progressive Ideology\">grid reliability problem<\/a> and it&rsquo;s coming quickly,&rdquo; Rep. Tom Mehaffie, R-Hershey, said. &ldquo;As long as people want to build data centers and Bitcoin and all the other things that are going on with this new technology like AI, there&rsquo;s gonna be a huge demand for electricity on this grid.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Pennsylvania is one of 13 states and Washington, D.C. that&rsquo;s part of the PJM grid, which supplies power for 65 million people. Pennsylvania is a major exporter of electricity to other states, but as power demands are set to grow significantly in the near future, there&rsquo;s&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/pennsylvania\/article_85ce8d56-707f-11ef-8d0c-8f3d3288a2cb.html\">no clear plan<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;for how to produce that power.<\/p>\n<p>States make their own policies that can contradict each other or limit other states. And there&rsquo;s no one source of authority to make decisions about power generation, which projects to connect to the grid, and how to regulate it.<\/p>\n<p>But experts predict nuclear power worldwide could grow by&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.powermag.com\/iaea-projects-950-gw-of-global-nuclear-power-capacity-by-2050\/?utm_source=www.gridbrief.com&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=the-future-of-cobalt-could-be-in-chile-nasa-science-creates-energy-efficient-windows&amp;_bhlid=73b02ee18e4d18867c1f74bbe542ca4f9ef4a13f\">950 gigawatts<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;by 2050 &mdash; almost three times the current global capacity of nuclear power. Technological advancements, combined with more support for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lots-of-energy-at-second-republican-presidential-debate-but-little-debate-about-energy\/\" title=\"High energy, low energy debate on energy at second GOP debate.\">carbon-free energy sources<\/a>, has created a sort of optimism for the future.<\/p>\n<p>And, practically speaking, reviving nuclear plants may simply get done faster than building and connecting a new project.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;With where we&rsquo;re at as a nation and a commonwealth, the demand for clean energy &mdash; they can open Three Mile Island and revamp it, put it in place, quicker than a gas generation plant,&rdquo; Mehaffie said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s really why it&rsquo;s so important to act now to get this in place.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The last new nuclear power plant, built in Georgia, was delayed by a better part of a decade. Estimated at $14 billion, the final price tag was&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/canada.constructconnect.com\/dcn\/news\/usa\/2024\/05\/second-new-nuclear-reactor-is-completed-in-georgia-after-years-of-delays\">$35 billion<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>But all new generation projects&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/pennsylvania\/article_113489d6-6590-11ef-8d08-eb2113a3323d.html\">face delays<\/a><\/strong>; from permits to PJM approvals to new transmission lines and interconnection problems, the current system can push back new sources of energy &mdash; whether they be solar or natural gas or anything else &mdash; by years and drive up costs.<\/p>\n<p>Returning Three Mile Island to operation remains in the hands of&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/2024\/07\/10\/three-mile-island-nuclear-artificial-intelligence\/\">Constellation Energy<\/a><\/strong>, but Mehaffie insisted that the state can&rsquo;t sit around and hope its energy problems disappear.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We need an immediate flow of electricity on the grid now,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If we don&rsquo;t get something in place like TMI that produces 800-900 megawatts in the next 5 years, we&rsquo;re gonna have issues on that grid &mdash; and that&rsquo;s scary.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>While solar power has received attention (and state subsidies), it remains&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dep.pa.gov\/Citizens\/solar\/Pages\/default.aspx\"><strong>less than 1%<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;of Pennsylvania&rsquo;s energy production. While Gov. Josh Shapiro has proposed to require&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/pennsylvania\/article_c208fc66-e150-11ee-b914-97bb4b80f08b.html\">35% clean energy<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;in the state, nuclear makes up most of that &mdash;&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eia.gov\/state\/analysis.php?sid=PA\">32%<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You may not see the urgency and that&rsquo;s kind of how government works. If it&rsquo;s not armageddon, people don&rsquo;t move,&rdquo; Mehaffie said. &ldquo;But if armageddon happens and we don&rsquo;t move early, there&rsquo;s no fixing this. And that&rsquo;s not a good situation to be in.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1763999\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1763999\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Can Pennsylvania&#8217;s nuclear energy help sustain the PJM grid? Possibly (The Center Square) \u2014 Pennsylvania depends on nuclear power more than all states except Illinois, and discussions about expansion are underway. One potential avenue is to restart Three Mile Island, which has garnered some political backing as electricity demand continues to rise. \u201cWe have a grid reliability issue that is approaching rapidly,\u201d stated Rep. Tom Mehaffie, R-Hershey. \u201cAs long as there\u2019s a desire to establish data centers and Bitcoin operations alongside emerging technologies like AI, the demand for electricity on this grid will be substantial.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Pennsylvania is among 13 states plus Washington, D.C., that make up the PJM grid, serving 65 million people. While Pennsylvania exports significant amounts of electricity to neighboring states, there\u2019s no definitive strategy for meeting the anticipated surge in power demands in the near future. Each state formulates its own policies that can conflict with others or impose limitations on neighboring regions. Additionally, there isn\u2019t a single governing body responsible for decisions regarding power generation sources or which projects should connect to the grid.<\/p>\n<p>Experts forecast that global nuclear power capacity could increase by 950 gigawatts by 2050\u2014nearly triple today\u2019s capacity\u2014due to technological advancements and growing support for carbon-free energy sources fostering optimism about future developments. Reviving existing nuclear plants may also prove quicker than constructing new facilities from scratch.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith our current national and state situation regarding clean energy needs\u2014reopening Three Mile Island could be accomplished faster than building a gas generation plant,\u201d Mehaffie noted. \u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s crucial to take action now.\u201d The last newly constructed nuclear facility in Georgia faced nearly ten years of delays; originally estimated at $14 billion, its final cost soared to $35 billion.<\/p>\n<p>However, all new energy projects encounter delays due to permitting processes and approvals from PJM along with challenges related to transmission lines and interconnections\u2014all of which can postpone new energy sources like solar or natural gas by several years while increasing costs.<\/p>\n<p>The decision to reactivate Three Mile Island lies with Constellation Energy; however, Mehaffie emphasized that waiting idly won\u2019t resolve Pennsylvania&#8217;s energy challenges: \u201cWe need an immediate influx of electricity into the grid now,\u201d he asserted. \u201cIf we don\u2019t implement something like TMI\u2014which could generate 800-900 megawatts\u2014in the next five years, we\u2019re going to face serious issues on that grid\u2014and that&#8217;s concerning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Although solar power has gained attention (and state funding), it still accounts for less than 1% of Pennsylvania&#8217;s total energy production. Governor Josh Shapiro has suggested mandating 35% clean energy within the state; currently, nuclear represents most of this at approximately 32% in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou might not perceive an urgent need\u2014that&#8217;s often how government operates,\u201d Mehaffie remarked. \u201cIf it doesn\u2019t seem catastrophic right now, action tends not happen quickly enough\u2014but if disaster strikes without early intervention there may be no remedy left\u2014and that&#8217;s an undesirable position.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2343268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/nuclear-power-1024x593.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[41210,5836,39646],"class_list":["post-2343267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-nuclear-power","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pjm-grid"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/nuclear-power-1024x593.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2343267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2343267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2343267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2343268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2343267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2343267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2343267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}